QuickSketch of Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard
MONTREAL – A quicksketch of Quebec Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard, who is vying for a second mandate as premier when Quebecers go to the polls Monday:
Age: 61
Born: June 26, 1957, in Montreal.
Job before politics: Neurosurgeon.
Education: Earned a doctorate in medicine in 1979 and neurosurgery degree in 1985 from Universite de Montreal, a specialist certificate from College des medecins du Quebec and a specialist certificate from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1985.
Professional career: Strategic adviser in health and in life sciences with Secor-KPMG; senior follow in health law at McGill University; head of the department of neurosurgery at St-Luc Hospital from 1989 to 1992, and again at the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke from 1996 to 2003.
Political career: Embarked on a career in provincial politics in 2003; served as health minister between 2003 and 2008; elected Liberal leader in March 2013; won byelection in December 2013; became premier in April 2014.
Current riding: Roberval, about 250 kilometres north of Quebec City.
Quote: “Our economy is one of the strongest in Canada. On Oct. 1, we have a choice: take advantage of our momentum or break it. To welcome talent or close ourselves off. To unite or to argue among ourselves.” — Couillard, concluding the last of the three leaders’ debates.
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