Joël Lightbound

Joël Lightbound
MP
Joël Lightbound MP
	Lightbound in 2015
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
	In office; December 12, 2019 – October 26, 2021
Minister	Bill Blair
Preceded by	Bill Blair (as Minister of Border Security)
Succeeded by	Pam Damoff (Parliamentary Secretary for Public Safety)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
	In office; September 19, 2017 – December 12, 2019
Minister	Bill Morneau
Preceded by	Ginette Petitpas Taylor
Succeeded by	Sean Fraser (as Secretary to the Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health
	In office; January 30, 2017 – September 19, 2017
Minister	Jane Philpott; Ginette Petitpas Taylor
Preceded by	Kamal Khera
Succeeded by	Bill Blair
Member of Parliament; for Louis-Hébert
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Denis Blanchette
Personal details
Born	February 8, 1988 (age 36); Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Residence(s)	Quebec City, Quebec
Alma mater	McGill University

Joël Lightbound MP (born February 8, 1988) is a Canadian politician serving as the member of Parliament (MP) for Louis-Hébert. A member of the Liberal Party, he was first elected following the 2015 federal election.

Background

In 2008, Lightbound was awarded the Cardinal Roy Trophy from Champlain Regional College.^[2] He later attended the McGill University Faculty of Law, where he won the National Laskin Moot.^[3] He initially articled with the Montreal offices of Fasken, and prior to his election practiced law in the Quebec City area, specializing in immigration.^[4]

Political career

Lightbound was elected in 2015.^[5] He was re-elected in 2019, becoming the first MP in three decades to hold Louis-Hébert for more than one term, and again in 2021.

In February 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic and Freedom Convoy protests, Lightbound held a press conference where he spoke out against politicians' handling of the pandemic, and denounced dismissing those with "legitimate concerns" while also calling for the convoy protesters to return home.^[6] Soon afterwards, Lightbound resigned his position in the ruling party as Quebec caucus chair.^[7]

Electoral record

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election: Louis-Hébert
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Joël Lightbound	22,933	38.35	-2.16	$51,233.94
	Bloc Québécois	Marc Dean	16,247	27.17	-0.83	$22,437.53
	Conservative	Gilles Lépine	14,332	23.97	+6.39	$21,615.85
	New Democratic	Hamid Nadji	4,337	7.25	-0.62	$5,611.33
	Green	Denis Blanchette	1,573	2.63	-1.34	$2,847.44
	Independent	Ali Dahan	378	0.63	+0.20	$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit			59,800	–	–	$111,646.95
Total rejected ballots			861
Turnout			60,661	74.31	-2.07
Registered voters			81,632
	Liberal hold		Swing		-0.67
Source: Elections Canada^[8]

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Louis-Hébert
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Joël Lightbound	25,140	40.51	+5.66	$82,402.61
	Bloc Québécois	Christian Hébert	17,375	28.00	+13.59	$49,988.85
	Conservative	Marie-Josée Guérette	10,912	17.58	-9.61	$54,059.24
	New Democratic	Jérémie Juneau	4,884	7.87	-12.94	none listed
	Green	Macarena Diab	2,466	3.97	+1.44	none listed
	People's	Daniel Brisson	1,016	1.64	–	none listed
	Independent	Ali Dahan	267	0.43	–	$0.00
Total valid votes			62,060	98.61	–
Total rejected ballots			873	1.39	–
Turnout			62,933	76.38	–
Eligible voters			82,395	–	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		-3.97
Source: Elections Canada^[9]^[10]

2015 Canadian federal election: Louis-Hébert
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Joël Lightbound	21,516	34.85	+21.43	–
	Conservative	Jean-Pierre Asselin	16,789	27.19	+5.36	–
	New Democratic	Denis Blanchette	12,850	20.81	-17.84	–
	Bloc Québécois	Caroline Pageau	8,900	14.41	-9.80	–
	Green	Andrée-Anne Beaudoin-Julien	1,561	2.53	+0.88	–
	Christian Heritage	Stefan Jetchick	128	0.21	-0.03	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			61,744	100.00		$217,520.39
Total rejected ballots			627	1.01	–
Turnout			62,371	76.90	–
Eligible voters			81,109
	Liberal gain from New Democratic		Swing		+19.63
Source: Elections Canada^[11]^[12]^[13]