Jean Lapierre

Jean-Charles Lapierre (7 May 1956 – 29 March 2016) was a Canadian politician and television and radio broadcaster. After retiring from the government in 2007, he served as a political analyst in a variety of venues. He was Paul Martin's Quebec lieutenant during the period of the Martin government. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 1978, serving from 1979 to 1993, and representing the riding of Shefford. He sat as a Liberal from 1979 to 1990, and later as an independent. He returned after an eleven-year absence when he won a seat in the 2004 federal election for the Montreal riding of Outremont. On 20 July 2004, he was appointed to the Canadian Cabinet as Minister of Transport, serving until the 2006 election. Lapierre resigned as the MP for Outremont on 28 January 2007. In 2016, Lapierre died on a private plane that crashed on approach to Îles-de-la-Madeleine Airport. There were no survivors among the seven people on board, which included two pilots, Lapierre, his wife, and three of his siblings; Lapierre and his family were travelling to his father Raymond's funeral.