André Bellavance Politician

André Bellavance (born June 3, 1964 in Victoriaville, Quebec) is a Canadian politician.Bellavance is an independent member of the Canadian House of Commons, formerly a member of the Bloc Québécois until his resignation from the party on August 25, 2014., representing the riding of Richmond—Arthabaska since 2004. Before being elected, he was the parliamentary assistant to Pierre Paquette.Bellavance was interim parliamentary leader of the Bloc from December 16, 2013, to February 25, 2014. On February 25, 2014, Bellavance resigned from that position to became a candidate in the Bloc Québécois leadership election. Bellavance's candidacy for leadership was endorsed by the other three BQ MPs, however he was defeated in the leadership election by Mario Beaulieu, the former president of the sovereigntist Société-Saint-Jean-Baptiste, who was viewed as a "hardline" sovereigntist in comparison to Bellavance who had campaigned on broadening the party so that it would become more than a coalition of sovereigntists.On his reasons for leaving the Bloc, Bellavance told a press conference: “[Beaulieu's] vision and orientation for the Bloc are diametrically opposed to mine. Mr. Beaulieu says he can unite the party; for me it’s not the case.” Bellavance also announced that he will not seek re-election as an MP.