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Pierre Paquette Politician

Pierre A. Paquette (born June 1, 1955 in Sorel, Quebec) is a Canadian politician.An economist, professor and former union leader, Paquette was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a member of the Bloc Québécois in the Canadian federal election, 2000 in the riding of Joliette. He was re-elected in the Canadian federal election, 2004 defeating the Liberal candidate by nearly 20,000 votes. He is the Bloc former critic of International Financial Institutions and Finance, and is the current critic of Globalization, Financial Institutions, and International Trade. After his promotion to House Leader in April 2007, many pundits claimed he was being groomed as Gilles Duceppe's successor. Paquette made no attempt to dispel rumours that he was considering a run for BQ leadership, openly stating he was "considering" a run during the 24-hour period in which it seemed Duceppe would depart for the Parti Québécois leadership election, 2007.Paquette was the Bloc's House Leader until losing his seat in the May 2, 2011 federal election which reduced the Bloc to four seats in the House of Commons. On May 11, 2011, he announced his intention to stand for the leadership of the Bloc. However, in August he announced he will not be a candidate and called for the leadership election to be delayed until late 2012.In the 2014 provincial election he ran for the Parti Québécois in L'Assomption, but was defeated by incumbent CAQ leader François Legault.