The former mayor of Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce and former member of the Coalition Avenir Québec André Spénard died at the age of 72.
The native of Thetford-Mines had been fighting cancer for several years. A graduate of Laval University, Mr. Spénard worked for many years as general manager of the adapted company L’Atelier de readaptation au travail de Beauce.
In 1996, he was elected mayor of Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, a position he held until 2005. He was a deputy in Beauce-Nord for the party of François Legault from 2012 to 2018. This politician was notably appointed spokesperson for the second opposition group in matters of municipal affairs during his visit to the National Assembly.
Tributes have been numerous on social networks following the announcement of the death of André Spénard.
On Twitter, Prime Minister François Legault spoke of Mr. Spénard as a straight man and a proud Beauceron who devoted much of his life to public service.
The current MP for Beauce-Nord, Luc Provençal also expressed his sadness after the death of the man with whom he had developed a great friendship.
On its Facebook page, the municipality of Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce praised the dedication of the man in his community.