Vivian Barbot (born July 7, 1941) is a Canadian politician who was the member of Parliament (MP) for Papineau from 2006 to 2008. A member of the Bloc Québécois, Barbot served as interim leader in 2011 and was the party's vice-president from 2009 to 2012.
Personal life Barbot was born in Saint-Marc, Haiti, where her father briefly worked as a teacher before becoming head of the secret police and her mother, Clément Barbot, was a political aide under the dictator François Duvalier.
Political career Barbot is a former president of the Fédération des femmes du Québec, a former member of Parliament and former vice-president of the Bloc Québécois."Bloc faces growing pressure to delay choosing Duceppe replacement". The Globe and Mail, August 12, 2011. She was the party's interim leader and president following the resignation of Gilles Duceppe in May 2011. Barbot became the first person of a visible minority group to lead a Canadian federal political party with parliamentary representation.
In the 2006 election, she scored a significant victory for the Bloc by defeating former Liberal minister Pierre Pettigrew, but was defeated two years later in the 2008 federal election by Justin Trudeau. Barbot ran against Trudeau in the 2011 election, but was once again defeated.
The 2011 election also saw the defeat of party leader Gilles Duceppe and all but four Bloc MPs. As vice-president of the party, Barbot was appointed interim party leader and president following Duceppe's resignation and remained in the position until Duceppe's successor, Daniel Paillé, was elected on December 11, 2011.
Election results
Note: Baig's share of popular vote as an independent candidate is compared to his share in the 2006 general election as a Canadian Action Party candidate.
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