Elected MNA for Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne in March 2007, and re-elected in December of 2008, Marguerite Blais is the Minister responsible for Senior Citizens and sits on the Cabinet Committee for Social, Educational and Cultural Development.  Deeply committed to the welfare of elderly Quebecers, she has championed their cause for many years.  From 1987 to 1989, she sat on a committee set up by the Government of Quebec to study instances of abuse towards senior citizens.

Her ministerial duties have in no way diminished the energy and time she devotes to her riding, which, she believes, is the most promising in Montreal. Born and raised in Pointe-St-Charles, she is intimately familiar with the riding’s economic, social and cultural issues.

Marguerite Blais holds a Master’s degree, a Ph.D. and a post-doctoral degree in communication from UQAM.  Well known to the public after a career as a journalist and talk show host on TV and radio, she was named the general manager of Mayor of Montreal Foundation for Youth from 1996 to 2003, when she became President of the Council for Children and Family Affairs.

Mrs. Blais has long worked for the deaf community and continues to do so.  She has played a big part in raising their profile with her three books, Quand les Sourds nous font signe : histoires de sourds (Le Dauphin Blanc, 2003), Culture sourde : Quêtes identitaires au cœur de la communication (PUL, 2006) and Apprendre à vivre aux frontières des cultures sourdes et entendantes : histoires d'enfants entendants issus de parents sourds (PUL 2009) co-authored with Jacques Rhéaume .

She sat on the Board of the Greater Montreal United Way and received numerous awards during her career, including the UQAM Recognition Award for exceptional contribution to the Letters, Language and Communications Faculty (2004), the Quebec Businesswomen Award for a public sector professional, and the District 61 Toastmasters international communication and leadership Award, for her contribution to education and social projects (2005).