Nadine Girault, who served as minister under CAQ government, dies at 63
Nadine Girault, a cabinet minister during the Coalition Avenir Québec's first four years in power, has died, Premier François Legault announced Monday.
Girault was 63.
"I am so sad to learn of the passing of our former colleague and friend, Nadine Girault," Legault wrote in a tweet.
The premier also described her as "a passionate, determined, endearing woman."
A Coalition Avenir Québec member from 2018 to 2022, Girault served as minister of international relations and the Francophonie and was also one of the ministers who headed up the CAQ's action group against racism.
In June 2020, she added to her workload when became the province's immigration minister.
She also served as the MNA for the Bertrand riding in the Laurentians.
Girault was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019, stepping away from her functions a few times during her term.
Last July, she made the decision not to run in the 2022 provincial election.
She told Radio-Canada at the time that she was grieving for her career and her active lifestyle, saying the diagnosis was exceptionally shocking because she had never smoked and had always led a healthy lifestyle.
Before entering politics, Girault was vice-president for development with the Fonds de solidarité (FTQ). Before that, she had held executive positions with BMO Financial Group, Desjardins and RBC.
'A rare elegance,' says minister, close friend
Tributes and messages of sympathy poured in online following the announcement, including from provincial party leaders, former colleagues and other elected officials.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his heart goes out to all those mourning Girault, "who is being remembered for her hard work, her passion, and her commitment to serving others."
Caroline Proulx, the province's tourism minister and minister responsible for the Lanaudière region, recalls becoming fast friends with Girault after happening to sit next to her when they were both named to cabinet in 2018.
"We just hit it off, I mean we were fans of sports, fans of our jobs — she was a rare elegance," she said in an interview with CBC. "That is who Nadine was."
Together with other first-time ministers, including Sonia LeBel and Isabelle Charest, the women formed an unofficial support group, which Girault remained a part of by text throughout the 2022 election campaign, congratulating her friends on their re-elections, Proulx said.
Describing her as strong, kind, and funny, Proulx said Girault's ultimate goal during her term was to get the job done.
"She made an economical business out of international relations," Proulx said. "It was a shift that needed to happen and she [led] it with such grace and elegance and with a very clear objective in mind … and she never backed down, she was strong and she knew where she had to go."
Martine Biron, the current minister of international relations and the Francophonie, shared those same sentiments.
"My predecessor left us a resilient and strong international network," she tweeted Monday.
Marc Tanguay, interim leader of Quebec's Official Opposition, expressed his condolences to Girault's family, adding she was "a colleague of the National Assembly appreciated by all."
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante described Girault as "a woman of action" who "broke glass ceilings and inspired many."
