François Gourd

François "Yo" Gourd is a Canadian political figure and entertainer, who has been involved in the Rhinoceros Party of Canada and the entartistes, two satirical political movements.[1] He was also the Rhinoceros Party candidate in Saint-Michel in the 1979 federal election.

In 1983 Gourd opened a bar called Les Foufounes Électriques, along with Norman Boileau and Bernard Paquet — two of Gourd's friends from a musical theatre of which he was a member. They were interested in creating a space for showcasing burgeoning alternative musicians and different types of art.[2][3] According to Gourd, the bar did not turn much of a profit and he sold his share in the club after five years. By the end of the 1980s, Boileau was the only remaining owner.[2][3]

In the period that followed, he became involved in cinema.[2] His films included Masturbation libre, le manifeste in 2007.[4]

In 2006, he founded the second iteration of the Rhinoceros Party, the successor to the historical Rhinoceros Party dissolved in 1993. As the party's candidate in the September 17, 2007 federal by-election in Outremont, he listed his profession as poet[5] on his nomination papers. He received 145 votes (0.61%).[5] The party's activities included protesting against the construction industry.[6]

Electoral record

1979 Canadian federal election: Saint-Michel
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal Marie Thérèse Killens 29,046
Social Credit John Mitchell 4,299
New Democratic Filippo Salvatore 2,616
Progressive Conservative Jean-Louis Pozza 2,602
Rhinoceros François Gourd 1,453
Union populaire Bernard L. Longpré 432
Communist Vittoria Bronzati 177
Marxist–Leninist Serge Tremblay 147
Canadian federal by-election, 17 September 2007
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
resignation of Jean Lapierre, 28 January 2007
New Democratic Thomas Mulcair 11,374 47.51 +30.38
Liberal Jocelyn Coulon 6,933 28.96 -6.17
Bloc Québécois Jean-Paul Gilson 2,610 10.90 -17.91
Conservative Gilles Duguay 2,052 8.57 -4.27
Green François Pilon 529 2.20 -2.59
Rhinoceros François Yo Gourd 145 0.61
Independent Mahmood Raza Baig 78 0.33
Independent Jocelyne Leduc 67 0.28
Canadian Action Alexandre Amirizian 45 0.19
Independent Romain Angeles 43 0.18
Independent Régent Millette 32 0.13 +0.07
Independent John Turmel 30 0.13
2008 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Bloc Québécois Gilles Duceppe 24,103 50.24 −4.45 $71,127
Liberal Sébastien Caron 8,798 18.33 +5.88 $30,225
New Democratic François Grégoire 8,209 17.11 +0.44 $31,151
Green Dylan Perceval-Maxwell 3,801 7.92 -0.38 $7,171
Conservative Charles K. Langford 2,320 4.83 −1.55 $5,590
Rhinoceros François Yo Gourd 447 0.93 $388
Marxist–Leninist Serge Lachapelle 118 0.24 -0.03
Independent Daniel "F4J" Laforest 93 0.19
Communist Samie Pagé-Quirion 86 0.17 -0.03 $898
Total valid votes/Expense limit 47,975 100.00 $84,641
Total rejected ballots 406 0.84
Turnout 48,381 61.10
2011 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Hélène Laverdière 23,373 46.64 +29.53
Bloc Québécois Gilles Duceppe 17,991 35.90 -14.34
Liberal Philippe Allard 4,976 9.93 -8.40
Conservative Charles K. Langford 1,764 3.52 -1.31
Green Adam Olivier 1,324 2.64 -5.28
Rhinoceros François Yo Gourd 398 0.79 -0.14
Communist Sylvain Archambault 137 0.27 +0.10
Marxist–Leninist Serge Lachapelle 77 0.15 -0.09
Independent Dimitri Mourkes 73 0.15
Total valid votes/Expense limit 50,113 100.00
Total rejected ballots 471 0.93
Turnout 50,584 64.21

References

  1. ^ "Pied snipers". The Gazette, January 31, 1999.
  2. ^ a b c Barry, Chris, "Anarchy and assholes". Montreal Mirror, October 20, 2005. Last retrieved June 17, 2010.
  3. ^ a b The history of Les Foufounes Electriques on the club's official website Archived 2010-03-30 at the Wayback Machine. Last retrieved June 17, 2010.
  4. ^ Odile Tremblay, "Documentaire - Le meilleur film de François Gourd". Le Devoir, April 6, 2007.
  5. ^ a b History of Federal Ridings since 1867
  6. ^ "En bref - «Yo» Gourd en tête". Le Devoir, September 24, 2011.