Stéphane Dion

Dion was born on 28 September 1955 in Quebec City, the second of five children. His mother, Denyse (née Kormann),{{cite encyclopedia|author=Benoit Aubin |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/stephane-dion-profile|title=Stéphane Dion (Profile)|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|access-date=28 August 2019}} was a real-estate agent born in Paris, France, and his father, Léon Dion, was a Quebec academic. Dion holds dual citizenship in France because of his French-born mother.{{cite news|author=CTV.ca news staff|author-link=CTV Television Network|date=5 December 2006|title=Stéphane Dion says he'll keep dual citizenship|url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061205/dion_dual_061205/20061205?hub=TopStories|url-status=dead|access-date=5 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208043449/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061205/dion_dual_061205/20061205?hub=TopStories|archive-date=8 December 2006}} Dion was raised in a modest home on boulevard Liégeois in Sillery, today part of Quebec City. While growing up, he remembers being taunted for his family's secularism in a society which was then predominantly Roman Catholic.{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/straight-shooter-looks-to-lead/article1102600/?page=all |title=Straight shooter looks to lead |author=Ha, Tu Thanh |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=6 September 2006 |access-date=30 January 2015 |location=Toronto |archive-date=31 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131141756/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/straight-shooter-looks-to-lead/article1102600/?page=all |url-status=live }}

Dion was involved with the sovereignty movement, first as a teenager attending a Jesuit college in Quebec City,{{cite news|last=Diebel|first=Linda|date=13 August 2006|title=Can Stéphane Dion reel in the prize?|newspaper=The Toronto Star|format=link not available|url=http://vancouver.indymedia.org/?q=node/2064|access-date=4 September 2006|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174711/http://vancouver.indymedia.org/?q=node%2F2064|url-status=live}} and later as a university student campaigning for Parti Québécois candidate Louise Beaudoin in the 1976 election.{{Cite web|last=AUBIN|first=BENOIT|title=OTTAWA'S NEW POWER COUPLE {{!}} Maclean's {{!}} JAN. 22nd 2007|url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/2007/1/22/ottawas-new-power-couple|access-date=2021-03-18|website=Maclean's {{!}} The Complete Archive|language=en-US|archive-date=16 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116210645/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/2007/1/22/ottawas-new-power-couple|url-status=live}} Dion described his experience as follows:

{{blockquote|Because the party was there... I wanted to challenge my dad... the way to become an adult sometimes is to say the contrary to your father. Each evening, I would try out a new argument I had heard on the separatist network and my father was demolishing it... My father very quietly and very respectfully was refuting me, without insulting me.}}

Dion has said that his involvement as "an activist for the separatist cause" ended during a five-hour discussion with a federalist household while he was going door-to-door for the PQ, but he did not openly commit to federalism until much later. At the time of the 1980 referendum, his sentiments were neutral. In his own words, the 'no' victory left him "neither moved nor outraged. To tell the truth, I felt no particular feeling." (Moi, je ne me sentais ni ému ni révolté. À vrai dire, je n'éprouvais aucun sentiment particulier.){{cite magazine|last=Vastel|first=Michel|date=15 April 1997|title=Dion Quichotte mission impossible|url=http://www.lactualite.com/article.jsp?content=20061202_204502_5092|url-status=dead|magazine=L'actualité|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927032949/http://www.lactualite.com/article.jsp?content=20061202_204502_5092|archive-date=27 September 2007|access-date=16 December 2006}} (en français seulement)

He studied political science at Université Laval in the department co-founded by his father;{{cite news |url=https://www.ledevoir.com/politique/canada/124521/dion-contre-dion |first=Antoine |last=Robitaille |title=Dion contre Dion |date=9 December 2006 |access-date=30 January 2015 |newspaper=Le Devoir |archive-date=31 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131121921/http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/canada/124521/dion-contre-dion |url-status=live }} this was also where he met his future wife, Janine Krieber, a fellow student in the same program. In April 1986, Stéphane Dion married Krieber, and later the same year, they travelled to Peru to adopt their only child, Jeanne Krieber-Dion.{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=05e7577b-b571-4b19-a2b9-4b416c54bdb0&p=1 |first=Jeff |last=Heinrich |title=Stéphane Dion, unmasked |date=9 December 2006 |access-date=18 December 2006 |work=The Gazette|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307175330/http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=05e7577b-b571-4b19-a2b9-4b416c54bdb0&p=1 |archive-date=7 March 2008 }} His wife is an "expert in strategic studies and counter-terrorism issues," who teaches political science and sociology at Royal Military College Saint-Jean in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

After Dion obtained BA and MA degrees in 1977 and 1979 respectively (his master's thesis presented an analysis of the evolution of Parti Québécois electoral strategies{{Cite journal |last=Dion |first=Stéphane |date=1979 |title=La dimension temporelle de l'action partisane : l'étude d'un cas : le débat au sein du parti québécois sur les modalités d'accession à l'indépendance |url=https://corpus.ulaval.ca/entities/publication/ec02762e-0eb3-413d-a94c-2c09e26af44d/full |journal=Thèses et mémoires |publisher=Université Laval |hdl=20.500.11794/51231}}), he and Krieber departed together for France.

Dion spent four years in Paris, living with Janine in the Montmartre district and studying public administration under the supervision of noted sociologist Michel Crozier. After receiving a doctorate (doctorat d'état) in sociology from the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (commonly known as Sciences Po), Dion worked briefly as a teaching assistant at the Université de Moncton in 1984 before moving on to the Université de Montréal to assume an assistant professor position.{{cite web | url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/stephane-dion-political-scientist | title=Stéphane Dion: political scientist | publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | access-date=4 November 2015 | archive-date=29 March 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329135604/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/stephane-dion-political-scientist | url-status=live }} Dion taught there from 1984 to January 1996, specializing in public administration and organizational analysis and theory, and was a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., during a 1990–91 sabbatical leave.{{cite news|url=http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/default.asp?Language=E&Page=archivechretien&Sub=NewsReleases&Doc=news_re19960125220_e.htm |author=Privy Council Office |title=Prime Minister announces new Ministry |date=25 January 1996 |access-date=18 December 2006 |publisher=Government of Canada |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819173233/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/default.asp?Language=E |archive-date=19 August 2007 }}

After the failure of the Meech Lake Accord in 1990, Dion directed his intellectual inquiry towards an analysis of Quebec nationalism. His decisive conversion to federalism, as he later recounted to journalist Michel Vastel, occurred as he was preparing for a presentation in Washington:

{{blockquote|I sat down at my computer at 11 o'clock, and, at noon, I had a text that was so interesting that the Americans wanted to publish it. It was on that day that I realized I was truly a federalist. (Je me suis assis devant mon ordinateur à 11 h et, à midi, j'avais un texte tellement intéressant que les Américains ont voulu le publier. C'est ce jour-là que je me suis rendu compte que j'étais vraiment fédéraliste.)}}

In this period, the sovereignty movement had begun to promote the idea that federalism was inefficient for Quebec due to the duplication and overlap between the two levels of government. An expert in public administration, Dion emerged as a key figure in publicly criticizing this line of argument. His appearances on Le Point, a Télévision de Radio-Canada current affairs program, brought him to the attention of Aline Chrétien, who in the days following the close referendum defeat urged her husband, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, to recruit him.

Between 1987 and 1995, Dion published a number of books and articles on political science, public administration and management.{{cite web |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/INFORMATION/ABOUT/PEOPLE/KEY/BIBLIO.ASP?LANGUAGE=E&PARAM=182 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20080313172457/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/Redirect.aspx?BrowserType=ia_archiver&BronkenLink=&Querrystring=404%3Bhttp%3A//www.parl.gc.ca/INFORMATION/ABOUT/PEOPLE/KEY/BIBLIO.ASP%3FLANGUAGE%3DE%26PARAM%3D182 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 March 2008 |format=link not available |author=Library of Parliament |title=Dion, Stéphane: Selected Publications |year=2006 |access-date=18 December 2006 |publisher=Government of Canada }} A collection of Dion's speeches and writings on Canadian unity was published under the title Straight Talk (Le pari de la franchise) in 1999.{{cite book |last=Dion |first=Stéphane |author-link=Stéphane Dion |title=Straight Talk |url=https://archive.org/details/straighttalkonca00dion/page/256 |format=print |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |language=en |page=[https://archive.org/details/straighttalkonca00dion/page/256 256] |date=November 1999 |isbn=0-7735-1856-8 |url-access=registration }} Dion was also a guest scholar at the Laboratoire d'économie publique de Paris from 1994 to 1995, a co-editor of the Canadian Journal of Political Science from 1990 to 1993, and a research fellow at the Canadian Centre for Management Development (now part of the Canada School of Public Service) from 1990 to 1991.

In anticipation of by-elections in early 1996, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed two new "star candidates" from Quebec — Stéphane Dion and Pierre Pettigrew – to Cabinet. On 25 January 1996, Dion was named Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Pettigrew was named Minister for International Cooperation, and both were sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada.

Chrétien felt safe in appointing Dion to Cabinet because Dion was slated to run in Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, the second-safest Liberal riding in Quebec. In 25 March by-election, he was easily elected. This was not without precedent; in 1941, Mackenzie King had appointed Louis St. Laurent to Cabinet after nominating him to run in a safe Quebec riding. Dion would hold the riding in general election of 1997, and was re-elected again in the 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2015 elections. Dion continued to serve as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs until the end of Jean Chrétien's ministry on 12 December 2003.

In his responsibilities as Intergovernmental Affairs minister in the Jean Chrétien government, Dion was tasked with challenging the arguments of the Quebec sovereignty movement much more vigorously than in the pre-referendum period. The people of Quebec voted against the sovereignty option by a razor-thin margin (50.58% to 49.42%). Many federalists in Ottawa were caught off-guard by the results and believed that the referendum results would have no legal standing under Canadian law. The strongest complaints were on the presumed ambiguity of the 1995 question and that Quebec had tabled a law reserving the right for the National Assembly to declare independence unilaterally if constitutional negotiations with the Government of Canada failed.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

On 30 September 1996, Dion submitted three questions to the Supreme Court of Canada constituting the Supreme Court Reference re Secession of Quebec:

1. Under the Constitution of Canada, can the National Assembly, legislature, or government of Quebec effect the secession of Quebec from Canada unilaterally?
2. Does international law give the National Assembly, legislature, or government of Quebec the right to effect the secession of Quebec from Canada unilaterally? In this regard, is there a right to self-determination under international law that would give the National Assembly, legislature or government of Quebec the right to effect the secession of Quebec from Canada unilaterally?
3. In the event of a conflict between domestic and international law on the right of the National Assembly, legislature, or government of Quebec to effect the secession of Quebec from Canada unilaterally, which would take precedence in Canada?

As soon as these questions were made public, both parties of the National Assembly, the Bloc Québécois and numerous federalists denounced Ottawa's gesture. An Act respecting the exercise of the fundamental rights and prerogatives of the Québec people and the Québec State was passed in the National Assembly of Quebec by the Parti Québécois government two days after the Clarity Act had been introduced in the Canadian House of Commons.

On 20 August 1998, the Supreme Court answered, concluding that Quebec does not have the right to secede unilaterally under Canadian or international law. However, the federal government would have to enter into negotiations with the Quebec government if Quebecers expressed a clear will to secede. It confirmed that the Canadian Parliament had the power to determine whether or not a referendum question was clear enough to trigger such negotiations. The Canadian constitution would remain in effect until terms of secession were agreed to by all parties involved, and these terms would have to respect principles of democracy, minority and individual rights as outlined in the Canadian constitution.{{cite web |author=Supreme Court of Canada |publisher=Supreme Court of Canada |date=20 August 1998 |url=http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1643/index.do |title=Reference re Secession of Quebec |access-date=30 January 2015 |archive-date=18 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418174831/https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1643/index.do |url-status=live }}

Both the Government of Quebec and the Government of Canada publicly stated that they were very pleased with the opinion of the Supreme Court, which stated both that Quebec could not legally separate unilaterally from Canada and that the Parliament of Canada would have a 'political obligation' to enter into separation negotiations with Quebec in the event that a clear majority of its populace were to vote in favour of independence.

The Supreme Court reference launched a public debate between Dion and members of the Parti Québécois government in open letters published in the press.{{cite press release|last=Dion |first=Stéphane |publisher=Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs Canada |date=11 August 1997 |url=http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/default.asp?Language=E&Page=pressroom&Sub=OpenLetters&Doc=19970811_e.htm |title=Letter to Premier Lucien Bouchard Concerning his Position on a Unilateral Declaration of Independence |access-date=4 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040920054437/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/default.asp?Language=E&Page=PressRoom&Sub=OpenLetters&Doc=19970811_e.htm |archive-date=20 September 2004 }}{{cite press release|last=Dion |first=Stéphane |publisher=Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs Canada |date=19 November 1997 |url=http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/default.asp?Language=E&Page=pressroom&Sub=OpenLetters&Doc=19971119_e.htm |title=Letter to Mr. Jacques Brassard in Response to his Ministerial Statement on the Territorial Integrity of Quebec |access-date=4 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040920053824/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/default.asp?Language=E&Page=PressRoom&Sub=OpenLetters&Doc=19971119_e.htm |archive-date=20 September 2004 }}{{cite press release |last=Dion |first=Stéphane |publisher=Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs Canada |date=25 August 1998 |url=http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/default.asp?Language=E&Page=pressroom&Sub=OpenLetters&Doc=19980825_e.htm |title=Letter to Premier Lucien Bouchard on the Need to Respect the Supreme Court's Decision in its Entirety |access-date=4 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040920053948/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/default.asp?Language=E&Page=PressRoom&Sub=OpenLetters&Doc=19980825_e.htm |archive-date=20 September 2004 }} Following Lucien Bouchard's open letter to the Premier of New Brunswick, Frank McKenna, in 1997 defending the legality of a unilateral secession, Dion wrote the first of three open letters to leaders in the sovereignty movement. Dion challenged three assertions that Bouchard had made: that a unilateral declaration of independence is supported by international law; that a majority of "50% plus one" was a sufficient threshold for secession; and that international law would protect the territorial integrity of Quebec following a secession. Against the first assertion, Dion argued that the vast majority of international law experts "believe that the right to declare secession unilaterally does not belong to constituent entities of a democratic country such as Canada." In regard to the simple majority argument, Dion argued that due to the momentous changes to Quebecers' lives that would result from secession, a simple majority that could disappear in the face of difficulties would be insufficient to ensure the political legitimacy of the sovereigntist project. In regard to the territorial integrity of Quebec, Dion retorts that "there is neither a paragraph nor a line in international law that protects Quebec's territory but not Canada's. International experience demonstrates that the borders of the entity seeking independence can be called into question, sometimes for reasons based on democracy."

Dion's second open letter, to Quebec's intergovernmental affairs minister Jacques Brassard, came on 19 November 1997. Dion expanded upon his earlier arguments against the territorial integrity of Quebec following secession by highlighting the inconsistency in the argument that Canada is divisible but Quebec is not. Secondly, Dion underscored that without recognition by the Government of Canada and when opposed by a strong minority of citizens, a unilateral declaration of independence faces much difficulty in gaining international recognition.

In Dion's third open letter to Premier Lucien Bouchard came on 25 August 1998, shortly after the Supreme Court ruling on Secession had been handed down. He criticized the Quebec premier for accepting some aspects of the ruling (such as the political obligation for the Government of Canada to negotiate secession following a clear expression of will from the people of Quebec) and not other sections of the ruling (such as the need for a clear majority on a clear question and the unconstitutionality of a unilateral declaration of independence). In regard to the ruling, Dion makes three claims: that the federal government has a role in the selection of the question and the level of support required for it to pass, that secession can only be achieved through negotiation rather than a "unilateral declaration of independence", and that the terms of negotiation could not be decided solely by the Government of Quebec.

Dion organized and hosted the First International Conference on Federalism in Mont Tremblant in October 1999 to foster international support for the cause of federalism in Canada. Quebec sovereigntist leaders were granted a prominent role in the conference and used their floor time to denounce Canadian federalism to an international audience to the great annoyance of their federalist host. But Dion's views got a big boost during the closing speech by United States President Bill Clinton. Clinton appeared to echo the Supreme Court Reference, warning that "when a people thinks it should be independent in order to have a meaningful political existence, serious questions should be asked.... Are minority rights as well as majority rights respected? How are we going to co-operate with our neighbours?". Clinton argued that federalism allows peoples seeking recognition of their identity a way to do so without isolating themselves in a nation-state. The speech laid to rest any doubts about the U.S. position on the legality and desirability of unilateral secession in Quebec.{{cite news|author=Bruce Wallace|newspaper=Maclean's Magazine|date=18 October 1999|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/clinton-defends-canadian-federalism|title=Clinton Defends Canadian Federalism |via=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=28 August 2019|archive-date=28 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828160612/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/clinton-defends-canadian-federalism|url-status=live}}

File:DION SC.jpg, 1997)]]

The Supreme Court reference and three letters formed the basis for the Clarity Act (Bill C-20) presented by Dion to the House of Commons on 13 December 1999.{{cite web|title=Clarity Act|publisher=Government of Canada Privy Council Office|url=http://publications.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/BP/prb9942-e.htm|access-date=30 January 2015|archive-date=10 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510131357/http://publications.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/BP/prb9942-e.htm|url-status=live}} The legislation established the conditions under which the Government of Canada would enter into negotiations that might lead to secession following a vote by one of the provinces. It stipulated that in order to lead to separation negotiations, a referendum on independence in a given province would have to have "clearly" (according to the judgement of the House of Commons) framed its question to voters in terms of independence, and that the result would have to be a "clear majority" in favour, rather than a "50% plus one" majority.{{cite news|first=Tom|last=Flanagan|title=Clarifying the Clarity Act|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/clarifying-the-clarity-act/article586395/|work=The Globe and Mail|date=8 July 2011|access-date=5 December 2021|archive-date=5 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205210914/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/clarifying-the-clarity-act/article586395/|url-status=live}} It was passed by the House on 15 March 2000.{{cite web|title = Clarity Act|publisher = Government of Canada Privy Council Office|url = http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/index.asp?lang=eng&page=federal&doc=constitution/clarityact/ClarityAct_e.htm|access-date = 17 February 2008|archive-date = 7 December 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081207062905/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/index.asp?lang=eng&page=federal&doc=constitution/clarityact/ClarityAct_e.htm|url-status = live}}

Dion has often been described in Quebec as a Trudeau centralist due to his strong defence of Canadian federalism and forceful arguments against Quebec sovereigntists. However, his position on federalism is far more nuanced. It would be most accurate to describe him as a federal autonomist. While Dion supports cooperation, flexibility, and interdependence in the Canadian federation, he unequivocally argues against jurisdictional intrusion, stating

{{blockquote|[T]he Constitution must be respected. We must do away with the all-too-convenient excuse that a given governmental initiative responds to a need that is too urgent to be stymied by issues of "jurisdiction". Infringement of jurisdiction creates confusion which damages the quality of public policy.}}

Dion's position on provincial rights is not only the result of respect for the Constitution of Canada, but also a strategy to prevent the "joint decision trap" in which the capacity of a government's ability to act is restricted by the need for approval from the other constituent governments.

Dion has contested the political concentration on the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments, arguing that:

{{blockquote|[I]dentity, rather than the division of powers, that is at the source of our unity problem. Francophone Quebecers want the assurance that their language and culture can flourish with the support of other Canadians. They want to feel that their language and culture are seen by other Canadians as an important asset, rather than a burden. They want the assurance that they can be both Quebecers and Canadians, and that they don't have to choose between Quebec and Canada.{{cite web |last=Dion |first=Stéphane |title=My Praxis of Federalism |format=Notes for an address at the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario |date=28 May 1998 |url=http://stephanedion.ca/?q=en/Issues-Canada-980528Praxis |access-date=16 December 2006 |archive-date=7 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207114014/http://stephanedion.ca/?q=en/Issues-Canada-980528Praxis |url-status=live }}}}

In the same vein, Dion was the planner of the 1999 Social Union Framework Agreement, which, according to rabble.ca journalist Duncan Cameron, limited the national spending jurisdiction.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} Dion has described Quebec's Bill 101 as "a great law".{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/comment/article/719622 |title=Hébert: Language law to face foe from within |work=thestar.com |date=2 November 2009 |access-date=28 April 2010 |location=Toronto |archive-date=18 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018214916/http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/719622 |url-status=live }}

Dion had a prominent role within the Chrétien administration at the time of the sponsorship scandal, and his position as "National Unity" minister (an unofficial term for the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs) made him a figure of particular interest to the subsequent Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities (the Gomery Commission). He stated before the Gomery Commission that although in mid-2001 he was aware of the disproportionately large percentage of sponsorship funds going to Quebec, he was never directly involved in the administration of the program.{{cite news|url=http://www.gomery.ca/documents/transcripts/en/2005/02/2005221370.pdf |work=Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities |title=Volume 62 |pages=10897–10909 |author=Gomery, John H. |author-link=John Gomery |date=25 January 2005 |access-date=3 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017005204/http://www.gomery.ca/documents/transcripts/en/2005/02/2005221370.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2006 }} Indeed, Dion had been critical of the program while in cabinet, and openly doubted that it would do much to sway Quebecers from sovereignty.{{cite news |title=Stéphane Dion, inconspicuous achiever |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news2/canadavotes/leadersparties/leaders-dion.html |quote=Dion testified he was aware of the unusually large amounts of money going to Quebec under the sponsorship program but he knew nothing about the way the program was administered and said he had been critical from the outset of the idea that it would do anything to sway the minds of Quebecers. |date=October 2007 |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-date=28 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328020759/http://www.cbc.ca/news2/canadavotes/leadersparties/leaders-dion.html |url-status=live }} Along with most of the other ministers in the Chrétien cabinet, Dion was exonerated of all responsibility in the affair in the Phase I report of the Gomery Commission:

:"On the evidence there is no basis for attributing blame or responsibility to any other Minister of the Chrétien Cabinet [excepting Jean Chrétien and Alfonso Gagliano], since they, like all members of Parliament, were not informed of the initiatives being authorized by Mr. [Jean] Pelletier and their funding from the Unity Reserve."{{cite news|url=http://www.gomery.ca/en/phase1report/summary/ES_assigning%20responsibility_v01.pdf |work=Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities |title=Phase I Report: Who is Responsible? |page=77 |author=Gomery, John H. |author-link=John Gomery |date=31 October 2005 |access-date=17 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623182243/http://www.gomery.ca/en/phase1report/summary/ES_assigning%20responsibility_v01.pdf |archive-date=23 June 2006 }}

In early 2007, after winning the Liberal Party leadership, Dion suggested that Marc-Yvan Côté's lifetime ban against rejoining the party may have been an excessive punishment for Côté's involvement in the scandal. He later clarified his remarks, saying that he would not take any steps to reinstate Côté's party membership and that such reinstatement would probably not occur. Dion has also defended Jean Pelletier, saying that the former Mayor of Quebec City had "served the country well for decades."{{cite news |url=http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/01/24/3438868.html |work=CNews |agency=CP |title=Dion could welcome back some sponsorship organizers |last=Bryden |first=Joan |date=24 January 2007 |access-date=26 January 2007 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115132317/http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/01/24/3438868.html |archive-date=15 January 2013 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/dion-backtracks-on-return-of-party-exile/article677838/ |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |title=Dion backtracks on return of party exile |first1=Campbell |last1=Clark |first2=Jane |last2=Taber |date=25 January 2007 |access-date=30 January 2015 |location=Toronto |archive-date=31 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131143312/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/dion-backtracks-on-return-of-party-exile/article677838/ |url-status=live }}

After Paul Martin's assumption of the office of Prime Minister, Dion was dropped from Cabinet as part of a general effort to dissociate the new Liberal government from the outgoing Chrétien administration. He was also criticized by Jean Lapierre, Martin's new Quebec Lieutenant. Lapierre was a Quebec nationalist and founder of the Bloc Québécois and his views on intergovernmental relations differed significantly from Dion's. At one stage in the buildup to the 2004 election, Lapierre described Dion's Clarity Act as "useless", and although Manitoba Premier Gary Doer said the legislation was "extremely popular" in Western Canada, Martin defended Lapierre by saying that the Act would make little difference under his administration. An unconfirmed CTV report in 2004 claimed that Martin's organizers were planning a nomination challenge in Dion's riding.{{cite news|url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20040216/doer_west_040215?s_name=&no_ads= |title=Doer: PM's Quebec policy hinders Grits in West: Doer |date=16 February 2004 |work=CTV News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901190610/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20040216/doer_west_040215?s_name=&no_ads= |archive-date=1 September 2006 |url-status=dead |author=CTV News Staff |access-date=30 December 2006 }}

On 20 July 2004, Paul Martin appointed Dion the Minister of the Environment.{{Cite web|title=Roles – Hon. Stéphane Dion – Current and Past – Members of Parliament – House of Commons of Canada|url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/stephane-dion(460)/roles|access-date=2021-03-18|website=ourcommons.ca|archive-date=6 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006074313/https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/stephane-dion(460)/roles|url-status=live}} Shortly after his appointment, a Globe and Mail article described Dion as being "bent on transforming the environment dossier from the traditional tree-hugger's last stand into a forward-thinking economic portfolio.".{{cite news |url=http://www.sustreport.org/downloads/Dion_globe.doc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060928170603/http://www.sustreport.org/downloads/Dion_globe.doc |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 September 2006 |title=An Environment Minister of another colour |last=Mitchell |first=Alanna |format=MS Word doc from Michael Keating, Bingera Associates |publisher=sustreport.org |work=The Globe and Mail |date=12 October 2004 |access-date=2 January 2007}} Dion championed a "new industrial revolution" focused on "environmentally sustainable technologies and products",{{cite web |url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/media_archive/minister/speeches/2004/040910_s_e.htm |last=Dion |first=Stéphane |title=Environmental action for economic competitiveness: Will Canada lead the new Industrial Revolution? |date=10 September 2004 |access-date=30 January 2015 |publisher=Environment Canada |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131151727/http://www.ec.gc.ca/media_archive/minister/speeches/2004/040910_s_e.htm |archive-date=31 January 2015 |url-status=dead }} and he sought to nurture a collaborative relationship with big business rather than a confrontational one.{{cite news |url=http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/politics/article.jsp?content=20050228_95665_95665 |title=Rocky ride for Dion? |last=Geddes |first=John |work=Maclean's Magazine |date=22 February 2005 |access-date=2 January 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050308180624/http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/politics/article.jsp?content=20050228_95665_95665 |archive-date = 8 March 2005}} His maiden speech before the Calgary Chamber of Commerce illustrates just how accommodating he was ready to be: "Calgary is one of Canada's most impressive economic engines.... Alberta could soon be the second-largest oil-exporting jurisdiction on Earth, behind Saudi Arabia. This is tremendous blessing for Canada." In October 2005, Dion nominated oil and gas executive Allan Amey to head up the government's $1-billion Clean Fund, the largest single element in Dion's Kyoto implementation strategy.{{cite news|url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051014/kyoto_cleanfund_20051014/20051014?hub=SciTech |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306062504/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051014/kyoto_cleanfund_20051014/20051014?hub=SciTech |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 March 2008 |title=Former industry exec to head Clean Fund: report |last=Bueckert |first=Dennis |publisher=CTV.ca |work=Canadian Press |date=14 October 2005 |access-date=2 January 2007 }}

Dion's ministry declined to protect Sakinaw and Cultus sockeye salmon under the Species at Risk Act because it "could cost the sockeye fishing industry $125 million in lost revenue by 2008,"{{cite news |url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/media_archive/press/2004/041022_n_e.htm |title=Minister of the Environment Makes Recommendations on Adding New Species to the Species at Risk Act |author=Environment Canada |work=Environment Canada |publisher=Canada News Wire |date=22 October 2004 |access-date=30 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131151729/http://www.ec.gc.ca/media_archive/press/2004/041022_n_e.htm |archive-date=31 January 2015 |url-status=dead }} This led to some criticism from environmentalists.{{cite news|url=http://www.zoo.utoronto.ca/mgross/GlobeOct232004.pdf |title=Never before has the federal government consciously decided to let something go extinct |last=Mitchell |first=Alanna |work=The Globe and Mail |publisher=University of Toronto, Dept. of Zoology |date=23 October 2004 |access-date=4 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051027061622/http://www.zoo.utoronto.ca/mgross/GlobeOct232004.pdf |archive-date=27 October 2005 }}

Dion earned high praise for his work chairing the U.N. Climate Change summit (COP 11/MOP 1) in Montreal in 2005.{{cite news |url=http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=49364 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927220906/http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=49364 |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 September 2007 |title=Canada: Dion praised for extending Kyoto accord |last=Heinrich |first=Jeff |work=Montreal Gazette |date=11 December 2005 |access-date=6 January 2007 }} Later, when Dion's record as environment minister was under scrutiny in the closing days of the Liberal leadership campaign, former Sierra Club of Canada director and current leader of the Green Party of Canada Elizabeth May came to his defence, calling him a "very very good environment minister."{{cite news |url=http://kingstongreens.ca/archive/mainPages/ViewHTML.asp?Issue_ID=106 |title=Online campaign asks Canadians to back Green Party inclusion in election debates |last=Galloway |first=Gloria |work=The Globe and Mail |date=15 December 2005 |access-date=30 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131141736/http://kingstongreens.ca/archive/mainPages/ViewHTML.asp?Issue_ID=106 |archive-date=31 January 2015 }}

The government did not make significant progress towards reducing Canada's greenhouse gas emissions during Dion's brief tenure in office.{{cite news |url=https://www.ledevoir.com/politique/canada/124464/faut-il-deboulonner-la-statue-verte-de-dion |title=Faut-il déboulonner la statue verte de Dion? |last=Francoeur |first=Louis-Gilles |work=Le Devoir |date=9 December 2006 |access-date=30 January 2015 |archive-date=31 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131151532/http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/canada/124464/faut-il-deboulonner-la-statue-verte-de-dion |url-status=live }} In April 2005, Dion unveiled his "Project Green" to combat climate change, but the program was immediately criticized by some environmental groups for being too timid and for lacking in meaningful regulations.{{cite web|url=http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Campaigns_and_Programs/Climate_Change/News_Releases/newsclimatechange04130501.asp |work=David Suzuki Foundation |title=Canada's climate change plan lacks teeth |date=13 April 2005 |access-date=2 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061219151210/http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Campaigns_and_Programs/Climate_Change/News_Releases/newsclimatechange04130501.asp |archive-date=19 December 2006 }} Johanne Gélinas, Canada's environment commissioner, criticized the government's stewardship of marine areas and national parks, as well as its efforts to ensure the safety of drinking water.{{cite news|url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/255456/environment_commissioner_gives_government_failing_marks_over_policies/index.html |title=Environment Commissioner Gives Government Failing Marks Over Policies |author=Canadian Press |publisher=RedOrbit.com |work=Canadian Press |date=29 September 2005 |access-date=2 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014356/http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/255456/environment_commissioner_gives_government_failing_marks_over_policies/index.html |archive-date=30 September 2007 }}{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/watchdog-says-ottawa-not-protecting-environment-1.556203 |title=Watchdog says Ottawa not protecting environment |author=CBC News |publisher=CBC |date=29 September 2005 |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407132106/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/watchdog-says-ottawa-not-protecting-environment-1.556203 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/255549/official_report_slams_canada_over_environment/index.html |title=Official Report Slams Canada over Environment |last=Ljunggren |first=David |agency=Reuters |publisher=redorbit.com |date=29 September 2005 |access-date=3 January 2007 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927193101/http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/255549/official_report_slams_canada_over_environment/index.html |url-status=live }}

In February 2006, after the Liberals had been defeated and the Conservatives had taken over the reins of government, Dion said that Canada would very likely not be able to reach its targets under the Kyoto Protocol. Nevertheless, he argued that this was missing the point:

:"Everyone is saying target, target. But ... it is to be more than to reach a target. It's to change the economy. It's to have resource productivity, energy efficiency when we know that energy will be the next crisis for the economy of the world.... All my ministries will be green. Maybe I'll make one department of industry and the environment{{spaced ndash}}a department of sustainability. That's not a commitment, but if you want to change the mind, you have to change structure...."{{cite news |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=b04fc1ea-e90f-4160-a571-499c6bbc64aa |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129142031/http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=b04fc1ea-e90f-4160-a571-499c6bbc64aa |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 January 2013 |title=Dion admits Liberals' Kyoto goal impossible |last=Ivison |first=John |work=National Post |date=1 July 2006 |access-date=2 January 2007}}

{{See also|2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|2006 Liberal leadership bid by Stéphane Dion}}

File:Stéphane Dion rally.jpg.]]

Stéphane Dion announced his candidacy on 7 April, the day of the official beginning of the Liberal leadership race.{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ignatieff-dion-to-launch-bids-this-week/article706296/ |last=Clark |first=Campbell |author2=Karen Howlett |work=The Globe and Mail |title=Ignatieff, Dion to launch bids this week |date=4 April 2006 |access-date=30 January 2015 |location=Toronto |archive-date=31 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131141736/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ignatieff-dion-to-launch-bids-this-week/article706296/ |url-status=live }} His leadership campaign was referred to as the three-pillar approach. This approach focused on social justice, economic prosperity, and environmental sustainability, and a claim that a combination of these pillars would bring Canada into the 21st century.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/dion.html |author=CBC News |work=CBC.ca |title=INTERVIEW: Stéphane Dion |format=television transcript |date=5 November 2006 |access-date=16 December 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061211020718/http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/dion.html |archive-date = 11 December 2006}} He said that his campaign would focus on sustainable development of the economy and creating a "hyper-educated" Canadian workforce in order to compete with China.{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/leadership-contenders-define-issues/article20408720/ |last=Clark |first=Campbell |work=The Globe and Mail |title=Leadership contenders define issues |date=17 February 2006 |access-date=30 January 2015 |location=Toronto |archive-date=10 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210010932/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/leadership-contenders-define-issues/article20408720/ |url-status=live }}

Dion was a lower-key figure during most of the leadership race, with much of the media and political attention being centred on the race's two most high-profile candidates, Michael Ignatieff and former Ontario New Democratic Party premier Bob Rae. Federal NDP leader Jack Layton described Dion as "A man of principle and conviction and therefore almost certain not to be elected leader of the Liberal party."{{cite web |title=Jack Layton's keynote address to NDP convention |work=New Democratic Party of Canada|author=New Democratic Party |date=12 September 2006 |access-date=2 January 2007 |url=https://www.ndp.ca/page/4283 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061219135954/http://www.ndp.ca/page/4283 |archive-date = 19 December 2006}} For much of the campaign, front-runner Ignatieff had the strongest support in Dion's home province of Quebec. Dion's level of support was similar to that of former Ontario cabinet minister Gerard Kennedy, both candidates being in a distant third or fourth place, though still significantly higher than the other four leadership contestants.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

On 2 December 2006, at the Liberal Party leadership convention, Dion finished third after the first ballot, garnering 17.8 per cent of the delegates. After the second ballot, Kennedy threw his support behind Dion. Earlier, the two leadership contenders had allegedly struck a pact in which the first off the ballot would throw his support to the other. Pundits said that this surprise move had caught the Ignatieff and Rae strategists off guard.{{cite web|url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061202/liberal_balloting_061202/20061202?hub=TopStories |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205095949/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061202/liberal_balloting_061202/20061202?hub=TopStories |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 December 2006 |title='Gesture' might have helped trigger Dion win |location=Montreal |publisher=CTV.ca |date=2 December 2006 |access-date=11 January 2009 }} When the totals of the third ballot were released, Dion held a narrow lead with 37 per cent, followed closely by Ignatieff with 34.5%. Rae, with only 28.5 per cent, freed his delegates, many of whom backed Dion, as did former leadership candidates Ken Dryden and Joe Volpe. On the fourth ballot, Dion captured 54.7 per cent of votes cast and was declared the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

After the election win, Federal NDP leader Jack Layton urged Dion to renounce his dual citizenship with France saying that "I would prefer that a leader of a party hold only Canadian citizenship, because one represents many Canadians, and for me that means that it's better to remain the citizen of one country."{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/parliament39/mps-dualcitizenship.html|date=8 December 2006|title=The 39th Parliament MPs and dual citizenship|work=CBC News|author=Jennifer Wilson|access-date=27 June 2022|archive-date=27 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627114311/https://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/parliament39/mps-dualcitizenship.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/dual-citizenship-and-stephane-dion/article1111585/ |title=Opinion: Dual citizenship and Stéphane Dion |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=8 December 2006 |access-date=27 June 2022 |archive-date=27 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627114316/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/dual-citizenship-and-stephane-dion/article1111585/ |url-status=live }} Dion dismissed such calls.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dion-dismisses-call-to-give-up-french-citizenship-1.585149|work=CBC News|title=Dion dismisses call to give up French citizenship|date=5 December 2006|access-date=27 June 2022|archive-date=27 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627114311/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dion-dismisses-call-to-give-up-french-citizenship-1.585149|url-status=live}}

File:Baitan Nur Mosque Inauguration - Stéphane Dion.jpg (left), leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, with Stéphane Dion (right), who was one of multiple party leaders to attend the grand opening of Baitun Nur, the largest mosque in Canada on 5 July 2008]]

As rumours circulated of a possible election in early 2007, Dion bolstered the image of a Liberal Party renewed and healed of its internal divisions by appointing many of his former leadership rivals to key campaign positions. Ignatieff was named deputy leader, Rae and Scott Brison became platform development co-chairs, Kennedy was named special adviser for election readiness and renewal, Martha Hall Findlay was charged with platform outreach, and Ken Dryden, who received special acknowledgement from Dion for being "the heart of our party", was tasked "to be everywhere".{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dion-taps-former-rivals-for-election-roles-1.624172 |work=CBC News |title=Dion taps former rivals for election roles |author=CBC News |date=19 December 2006 |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-date=30 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330083840/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dion-taps-former-rivals-for-election-roles-1.624172 |url-status=live }}

In early January 2007, Dion made a leadership decision in regards to Wajid Khan, a Liberal MP who was serving as a Middle-East adviser to the Prime Minister. Dion thought it was inappropriate for a member of the Official Opposition to be serving the government so he told Khan to give up the position. Dion was confident that Khan would stay with the caucus and give up advising the Prime Minister,{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/liberal-mp-with-tory-advisory-role-will-not-defect-dion-1.681979 |work=CBC |title=Liberal MP with Tory advisory role will not defect: Dion |author=CBC news |date=5 January 2007 |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407131743/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/liberal-mp-with-tory-advisory-role-will-not-defect-dion-1.681979 |url-status=live }} but Khan chose to cross the floor, and join the Conservative caucus instead.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ontario-mp-khan-leaves-liberals-to-join-tories-1.633168 |work=CBC |title=Ontario MP Khan leaves Liberals to join Tories |author=CBC news |date=5 January 2007 |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407131817/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ontario-mp-khan-leaves-liberals-to-join-tories-1.633168 |url-status=live }}

On 18 January 2007, Dion unveiled the remainder of his shadow cabinet.{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=e8562350-ddf0-4d70-b302-d6f763c4df7f&k=84522 |work=National Post |title=Dion names mix of old and new to shadow cabinet |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Meagan |date=18 January 2007 |access-date=18 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213182756/http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=e8562350-ddf0-4d70-b302-d6f763c4df7f&k=84522 |archive-date=13 February 2012 }} Shortly after Dion led the Liberal caucus in its rejection of the 2007 Conservative budget, arguing that it failed Canadians on economic prosperity, social justice and environmental sustainability.{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=bd1ec741-6b16-4359-8b06-4fff3889d30b |title=Opposition leaders weigh in |author=National Post |date=20 March 2007 |access-date=20 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213175656/http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=bd1ec741-6b16-4359-8b06-4fff3889d30b |archive-date=13 February 2012 }}

In response, the Conservatives would launch a series of attack ads aimed directly at Dion, attacking his leadership abilities and record as environment minister.{{cite news|title=Tories launch attack ads aimed at Dion|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=29 January 2007|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/tories-launch-attack-ads-aimed-at-dion-1.642528|access-date=2 April 2014|archive-date=7 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407121625/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/tories-launch-attack-ads-aimed-at-dion-1.642528|url-status=live}} Similar ads attacking Dion would appear in November over statements that Dion would prefer new spending on health care and social programs to the tax cuts introduced by the Conservatives.{{cite web|title=New set of Tory ads take aim at Dion leadership |publisher=CTV.ca News |date=2 November 2007 |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/new-set-of-tory-ads-take-aim-at-dion-leadership-1.262611 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306062941/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071102/tory_ads_071102?s_name=&no_ads= |archive-date=6 March 2008 }}

File:Stéphane Dion.jpg

File:Dion speech.jpg.]]

On 1 February, Dion tabled a motion challenging the Conservatives to reaffirm Canada's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, attempting to capitalize on a 2002 letter in which Prime Minister Harper described the Accord as a "socialist scheme" that is based on "tentative and contradictory scientific evidence" and designed to suck money out of rich countries.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.631675 |work=CBC |title=Dion calls on Tories to recommit to Kyoto |author=CBC News |date=1 February 2007 |access-date=2 April 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407131705/http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/story/1.631675 |archive-date=7 April 2014 }} Tory environment minister John Baird responded by blaming the Liberals for what he described as a "shameful record over 13 years of inaction on the environment," while Harper said that his government would "stabilize emissions."{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/climate-report-predicts-major-consequences-for-canada-1.630931 |work=CBC |title=Climate report predicts major consequences for Canada |date=2 February 2007 |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407131734/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/climate-report-predicts-major-consequences-for-canada-1.630931 |url-status=live }} Dion's non-binding motion passed on 5 February.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/house-motion-passes-supporting-kyoto-1.689222 |work=CBC |title=House motion passes supporting Kyoto |date=5 February 2007 |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407114455/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/house-motion-passes-supporting-kyoto-1.689222 |url-status=live }}

On 27 February, Dion's Liberals, together with Bloc Québécois and NDP members of Parliament, voted down a Harper government proposal to extend two controversial provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act for another three years. Dion argued that the measures — which allowed police to arrest and detain terror suspects for three days without a warrant and which allowed judges to force witnesses to testify in terror cases — "have done nothing to fight against terrorism" and "have not been helpful and have continued to create some risk for civil liberties."{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mps-vote-against-extending-anti-terrorism-measures-1.662367 |work=CBC |title=MPs vote against extending anti-terrorism measures |date=27 February 2007 |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407131842/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mps-vote-against-extending-anti-terrorism-measures-1.662367 |url-status=live }}

On 12 April 2007, Dion announced that the Liberals would not run a candidate against Green Party leader Elizabeth May in the Nova Scotia riding of Central Nova (then represented by Conservative Peter MacKay) in return for the Green Party leader's agreement not to run a Green candidate in Dion's riding of Saint-Laurent—Cartierville.{{cite news|title=Liberals agree not to run candidate against Green leader|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/liberals-agree-not-to-run-candidate-against-green-leader-1.639778|work=CBC|date=12 April 2007|access-date=30 January 2015|archive-date=4 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204103723/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/liberals-agree-not-to-run-candidate-against-green-leader-1.639778|url-status=live}} The deal was criticized by the Conservatives and the NDP (Layton had rejected earlier attempts by May to cut a "backroom" deal with his party{{cite news|url=https://www.ndp.ca/page/5139 |work=NDP |title=Jack Layton on the Liberal – Green deal |author=NDP |date=13 April 2007 |access-date=13 April 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070418134707/http://www.ndp.ca/page/5139 |archive-date = 18 April 2007}}{{cite news|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/may-says-layton-has-refused-to-talk-with-greens-1.237392 |work=CTV |title=May says Layton has refused to talk with Greens |author=CTV news staff |date=15 April 2007 |access-date=15 April 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306062717/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070415/may_layton_070415/20070415?hub=Canada |archive-date=6 March 2008 }}), and also by some within the Liberal Party.{{Cite web |last= |date=13 April 2007 |title=Apr 2007: Courageous or disastrous? Liberals mixed about Dion's pact with May |url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/historic/2007/04/13/courageous-or-disastrous-liberals-mixed-about-dions-pact-with-may |access-date=28 September 2023 |website=Winnipeg Free Press |place=OTTAWA |language=en-US |agency=CP}} Dion later gave reassurance that the controversial deal was "an exceptional circumstance where Liberal voters are invited to help her [May] to win against Peter MacKay."{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics/story.html?id=a642d575-a284-4a6b-be50-61afadb5236e&k=47443 |work=Vancouver Province |title=No more favours for Greens, says Libs' Dion |last=Bailey |first=Ian |date=15 April 2007 |access-date=15 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307181327/http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics/story.html?id=a642d575-a284-4a6b-be50-61afadb5236e&k=47443 |archive-date=7 March 2008 }}

On 8 November 2007, Dion released a policy plan, that he compared to the United Kingdom's Labour Party under former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Dion mentioned that his party will tackle poverty in Canada in order to create a "greener", "richer" and "fairer" Canada. He set up targets to reduce general poverty by 30 percent and child poverty by 50 percent as well as helping working families with work rewards as well as increasing the Canada Child Tax benefit, increasing guaranteed revenues for seniors.{{cite news|author=Canwest News Services |title=Dion vows to reduce poverty |newspaper=The Ottawa Citizen |url=http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=bdea6cde-3d0f-43e1-872d-8f6a35de3849&k=89901 |date=9 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307180109/http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=bdea6cde-3d0f-43e1-872d-8f6a35de3849&k=89901 |archive-date=7 March 2008 }}

In January 2008, Dion and Ignatieff went to Kandahar, Afghanistan to visit a provincial reconstruction team. The visit was supposed to be secret, but was leaked to the public by Conservative junior minister Helena Guergis. After his return, Dion angrily criticized Guergis' action, saying that she put him at risk for being attacked by the Taliban. In a letter to Harper, Dion demanded Guergis' resignation or firing, saying that Guergis committed a "gross breach of Canadian security" that raised doubts about her fitness for Cabinet.{{cite news |date=16 January 2008 |title=Dion accuses cabinet minister of security breach, calls for resignation |publisher=CBC News |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dion-accuses-cabinet-minister-of-security-breach-calls-for-resignation-1.761768 |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407131838/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dion-accuses-cabinet-minister-of-security-breach-calls-for-resignation-1.761768 |url-status=live }}

On 3 June 2008, Stéphane Dion voted to implement a program which would "allow conscientious objectors...to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations...to...remain in Canada..."{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Joanna |date=3 June 2008 |title=MPs vote to give asylum to U.S. military deserters |newspaper=The Toronto Star |url=https://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/436575 |access-date=19 July 2008 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127232737/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2008/06/04/mps_vote_to_give_asylum_to_us_military_deserters.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Report — Iraq War Resisters / Rapport –Opposants à la guerre en Irak |url=http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=222011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213025638/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=3204056&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=2 |archive-date=13 February 2009 |access-date=9 June 2008 |publisher=House of Commons / Chambre des Communes, Ottawa, Canada}}{{cite web |title=Official Report * Table of Contents * Number 104 (Official Version) |url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=2&DocId=3543213#Int-2506938 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926040349/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=2&DocId=3543213 |archive-date=26 September 2008 |access-date=9 June 2008 |publisher=House of Commons / Chambre des Communes, Ottawa, Canada}}

The first federal by-elections contested by the Liberals under Dion's leadership took place on 18 September 2007, in three Quebec ridings: Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, Outremont and Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot. The party's candidates were defeated by large margins in all three races. The Outremont by-election was deemed a crucial test for Dion's leadership by some pundits, as it had been held by the Liberals almost uninterruptedly since 1935.{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/outremont-by-election-a-test-for-dion/article18145262/ |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |title=Outremont by-election a test for Dion |first1=Campbell |last1=Clark |first2=Daniel |last2=Leblanc |date=15 September 2007 |access-date=30 January 2015 |location=Toronto |archive-date=7 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107190556/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/outremont-by-election-a-test-for-dion/article18145262/ |url-status=live }} Others said it was a "poor measure of where the parties really stand."{{cite news |title=Not the final verdict on Dion |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=19 September 2007}} Dion's handpicked candidate Jocelyn Coulon, who was selected over Justin Trudeau,{{Cite web|url=http://www.thesuburban.com/blogs/cohen_confidential_with_mike_cohen/the-time-had-indeed-come-for-st-phane-dion-to/article_2b878254-d748-11e6-85ad-6bb536a1944b.html|title=The time had indeed come for Stéphane Dion to leave politics|date=10 January 2017|access-date=10 January 2017|archive-date=10 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710120450/http://www.thesuburban.com/blogs/cohen_confidential_with_mike_cohen/the-time-had-indeed-come-for-st-phane-dion-to/article_2b878254-d748-11e6-85ad-6bb536a1944b.html|url-status=live}} was defeated by the NDP's Thomas Mulcair. A Dion aide blamed the Outremont by-election on several factors, including poor organization, lack of communications, and lack of a clear policy on Quebec.{{cite news |last=Taber |first=Jane |date=20 September 2007 |title=Montrealers slam Dion's handling of campaign |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/montrealers-slam-dions-handling-of-campaign/article1082936/ |url-status=live |work=The Globe and Mail |location=Toronto |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013180134/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/montrealers-slam-dions-handling-of-campaign/article1082936/ |archive-date=13 October 2023 |access-date=13 October 2023}} In addition, the Halifax Chronicle-Herald reported that unidentified "Dion loyalists" were accusing Michael Ignatieff supporters of undermining by-election efforts. Though Ignatieff phoned up Dion to deny the allegations, The Globe and Mail suggested that the report had a negative impact on the Liberals' morale, citing the NDP's widening lead after the article's release.{{cite news|author=Jane Taber |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070919.wbyticktock19/BNStory/Front |title=Ignatieff called to reassure Dion, offer help |publisher=Theglobeandmail.com |date=19 September 2007 |access-date=11 January 2009 |location=Toronto |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308091918/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v5/content/subscribe?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FRTGAM.20070919.wbyticktock19%2FBNStory%2FFront&ord=97546193&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true |archive-date=8 March 2008}}{{cite news|first=Susan |last=Delacourt |url=https://www.thestar.com/Unassigned/article/259218 |title=The Liberal affliction: Runner-up syndrome |series=Iggy's Cross |location=Ottawa Bureau |work=The Star|date=22 September 2007 |access-date=11 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207044741/http://www.thestar.com/Unassigned/article/259218 |archive-date=7 December 2008 }}{{cite news|first=Craig |last=Offman |url=http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=1d6cea03-674f-463b-a674-3c8afce3c4fc&k=91630 |title=Discreet signs of a mutiny |date=22 September 2007 |newspaper=National Post |access-date=11 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213175636/http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=1d6cea03-674f-463b-a674-3c8afce3c4fc&k=91630 |archive-date=13 February 2012 }} Undaunted, Dion declared: "From this defeat, we can learn something and work together as a united party."{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.654051 |work=CBC |title=Liberals shut out in Quebec byelections |date=17 September 2007 |access-date=2 April 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407130138/http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/montreal/story/1.654051 |archive-date=7 April 2014 }}

On 23 September 2007, Liberal Party national director Jamie Carroll sparked controversy when, during discussions about whether francophone Quebecers should be hired in order to appeal to francophone voters, he commented: "Do we also have to hire people from the Chinese community to represent the Chinese community?" Carroll argued that the comment was taken out of context, but it nevertheless raised the hackles of many Liberals in Quebec, prompting calls from MPs Pablo Rodriguez and Liza Frulla for Carroll to be fired. Stéphane Dion stood by Carroll's version of events and rejected calls for Carroll's dismissal.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dion-rejects-calls-for-removal-of-party-s-director-1.685894 |work=CBC |title=Dion rejects calls for removal of party's director |date=28 September 2007 |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407120030/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dion-rejects-calls-for-removal-of-party-s-director-1.685894 |url-status=live }} On 10 October, a Liberal press release announced Carroll's resignation and commended him for his "loyalty to our leader and to our party".{{cite news|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/carroll-resigns-as-liberal-party-s-national-director-1.259583 |work=CTV |title=Carroll resigns as Liberal party's national director |author=CTV news |date=10 October 2007 |access-date=12 October 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012022757/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071010/liberal_carroll_071010/20071010 |archive-date=12 October 2007 }}

Marcel Proulx resigned as Dion's Quebec lieutenant hours before the Harper government's throne speech, taking the fall for the three by-election losses. Dion first approached Montreal MPs Denis Coderre and Pablo Rodriguez to succeed Proulx, but they declined. That evening he named Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette to the vacant post.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.654049 |title=Dion names senator as Quebec lieutenant; 2 MPs refuse job |publisher=CBCNews.ca |date=16 October 2007 |access-date=2 April 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407121611/http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/story/1.654049 |archive-date=7 April 2014 }} While the Party was divided on whether or not the government should be toppled on a confidence vote regarding the Throne Speech, Dion mentioned in a statement in the House of Commons on 17 October that the Liberals will support the Throne Speech but with major amendments including the Kyoto Protocol and the end of mission in Afghanistan by 2009 and had criticized the government on several aspects including the economy, seniors and child poverty, the crime policy, the Senate reform. The latter amendment proposal was rejected by the NDP, who favoured an immediate end to the mission. Dion explained the decision as that Canadians are not willing to have a third election in just over three years.{{cite news|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/harper-gives-dion-another-election-challenge-1.260530 |title=Harper gives Dion another election challenge |author=CTV News |date=17 October 2007 |access-date=17 October 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017201828/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071016/throne_speech_071017/20071017?hub=TopStories |archive-date=17 October 2007 }} All Liberal members abstained from voting on the Throne Speech on 24 October 2007, which passed 126–79.{{cite news|author=CTV News |title=Throne speech passes, Liberals abstain from voting |publisher=CTV |url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/throne-speech-passes-liberals-abstain-from-voting-1.261372 |date=24 October 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306062914/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071023/throne_speech_071024/20071024?hub=Politics |archive-date=6 March 2008 }}

The Liberal Party won three of four by-elections held on 17 March 2008, as Dion's former leadership rivals Bob Rae and Martha Hall Findlay won convincing victories in Toronto Centre and Willowdale, while Joyce Murray was narrowly elected in Vancouver Quadra. The Conservatives won a fourth contest in the northern Saskatchewan riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, which the Liberals had narrowly taken in the previous election. Dion declared the results a victory for his party, while also conceding that some Liberal support was lost to the Green Party.{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics/story.html?id=b5cb5481-a3e4-4dbd-8d71-debd38f4a31b&k=85925 |title=Dion declares victory after by-election wins |author=Zosia Bielski |date=18 March 2007 |access-date=18 March 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207045447/http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics/story.html?id=b5cb5481-a3e4-4dbd-8d71-debd38f4a31b&k=85925 |archive-date=7 December 2008 }} Some journalists described the outcome as a mixed result for both the Liberal Party and Dion's leadership.{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/liberals-win-in-toronto-bc-lose-in-sask/article958355/|title=Liberals win in Toronto, B.C., lose in Sask.|author=Gloria Galloway|date=18 March 2007|access-date=30 January 2015|work=The Globe and Mail|archive-date=31 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131143316/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/liberals-win-in-toronto-bc-lose-in-sask/article958355/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.680news.com/news/national/article.jsp?content=n0318154A |title=Mixed byelection results prolong Liberal angst over election timing |first=Joan | last=Bryden |date=18 March 2007 |access-date=18 March 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118155014/http://www.680news.com/news/national/article.jsp?content=n0318154A |archive-date=18 January 2012 }}

{{Main|2008 Canadian federal election}}

File:Liberal rally Brampton 2008 election 82.jpg. Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, seen here standing behind Dion, was among notable Liberals at this rally.]]

In 2008, as part of a measure for cutting greenhouse emissions, Dion called for a carbon price. He also praised a similar measure introduced and approved by the British Columbia government in the 2008 provincial budget as well as the province of Quebec that introduced a carbon-based tax which revenues will be used for green technologies.{{cite news|author=CTV |title=Dion calls for a price on carbon, but not a tax |publisher=CTV.ca |url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/dion-calls-for-a-price-on-carbon-but-not-a-tax-1.282554 |date=14 March 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080318131915/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080314/dion_carbon_080314/20080314 |archive-date=18 March 2008 }} Critics from other parties as well as some Liberal MPs said that the concept would be "too confusing, expensive and politically risky".{{cite news|author=CTV |title=Dion says Canadians willing to accept carbon tax |publisher=CTV.ca |url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/dion-says-canadians-willing-to-accept-carbon-tax-1.296046 |date=15 May 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080519204926/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080515/Stephane_Dion_080515/20080515 |archive-date=19 May 2008 }} The plan received support from David Suzuki who added on CTV's Question Period that: "To oppose the carbon tax plan, it's just nonsense. It's certainly the way we got to go".{{cite news|author=CTV |title=Suzuki slams NDP, Tories, backs Dion's carbon tax |publisher=CTV.ca |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/suzuki-slams-ndp-tories-backs-dion-s-carbon-tax-1.296690 |date=18 May 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603010140/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080518/carbontax_liberals_080518/20080518 |archive-date=3 June 2008 }}

In June 2008, Dion unveiled the new policy called the "Green Shift" and explained that this tax shift would create an ecotax on carbon while reducing personal and corporate income taxes. He stated that the taxation on carbon would generate up to $15 billion per year in revenues to offset the reduction in income tax revenue. The plan was immediately criticized by Prime Minister Harper, who described it as a tax grab and compared it to the National Energy Program that the federal Liberal government adopted in the 1980s.{{cite news|author=CTV |title=PM: Liberal carbon plan will 'screw' Canadians |publisher=CTV.ca |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/pm-liberal-carbon-plan-will-screw-canadians-1.303683 |date=20 June 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102223119/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080620/dion_drummond_080620?s_name=&no_ads= |archive-date=2 January 2009 }}{{cite news|author=CTV |title=Carbon tax about Canada's future: Dion |publisher=CTV.ca |url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/carbon-tax-about-canada-s-future-dion-1.303967 |date=21 June 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102223124/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080622/dion_ct_080622/20080622?hub=TopStories |archive-date=2 January 2009 }} On 11 September 2008, NDP leader Jack Layton also criticized the Green Shift, saying that it would hurt consumers, would be nothing more than a nuisance for energy producers, and evaluates emission equally across all sectors instead of maximizing reductions where the cost is lowest. Layton further noted that Dion's proposal does not set a target for reducing emissions.{{cite news |author=Gloria Galloway |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/layton-lays-into-green-shift/article1061159/ |title=Layton lays into Green Shift |location=Montreal |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=11 September 2008 |access-date=30 January 2015 |archive-date=31 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131141751/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/layton-lays-into-green-shift/article1061159/ |url-status=live }}

Near the end of the campaign, Dion had an interview with CTV Halifax's anchor Steve Murphy, where Dion asked the host three times to restart the interview because he didn't understand the mixed tense and timing of a question about the economy: "If you were Prime Minister now, what would you have done about the economy and this crisis that Mr. Harper has not done?" Murphy initially agreed not to air it but network executives decided to release it, generating controversy. On election night, Dion angrily refused to speak to the CTV reporters scrumming around him, saying "The last one I want to speak first [sic] is CTV – you understand that?"{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/printArticle/519056 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021084852/http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/519056 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 October 2008 |title=Print Article |work=Thestar.com |date=17 October 2008 |access-date=28 April 2010 |location=Toronto }}

The Liberals lost support on 14 October federal election, being reduced to 77 seats, down from 103 won in the 2006 election. They captured only 26.2 per cent of the popular vote — two points lower than the disastrous showing in 1984 under John Turner and only four points ahead of the party's worst ever result in 1867. Dion became the first Liberal Opposition Leader to fail to make a net gain in seats at his first election since Lester B. Pearson in 1958. Dion said that the party lost because he did not get the Liberal message out, and took responsibility saying "If people are asking why, it's because I failed."{{cite news|last=Bonoguore|first=Tenille|date=20 October 2008|title=Dion quits, but to remain at the helm until May|work=The Globe and Mail|location=Toronto|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/dion-quits-but-to-remain-at-the-helm-until-may/article1064344/|access-date=30 January 2015|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308142820/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/dion-quits-but-to-remain-at-the-helm-until-may/article1064344/|url-status=live}} Dion added that he never had a chance to establish his personal image with voters because of the Conservative ads depicting him as a "dithering egghead". Liberal veterans described Dion as a "lone wolf" who dismissed suggestions from his senior advisers to avoid using the Green Shift as an election platform. A party insider also said that Dion was reluctant to emphasize the Liberal team because he felt that he was being overshadowed by leadership rival Bob Rae.{{Cite news|author=Taber, Jane|date=16 October 2008|title=Dion ignored advisers' advice, preferring to act as 'a lone wolf'|work=The Globe and Mail|location=Toronto|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/dion-ignored-advisers-advice-preferring-to-act-as-a-lone-wolf/article661439/|access-date=30 January 2015|archive-date=31 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131141748/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/dion-ignored-advisers-advice-preferring-to-act-as-a-lone-wolf/article661439/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last1=Whittington|first1=Les|last2=Campion-Smith|first2=Bruce|date=21 October 2008|title=Dion out as Liberal leader|work=Toronto Star|url=https://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/520942|access-date=4 December 2008|archive-date=7 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107165144/http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/520942|url-status=live}} On 20 October, Dion announced his resignation as leader, pending the election of his successor, "because I failed."{{cite news |last1=Campion-Smith |first1=Bruce |last2=Whittington |first2=Les |date=October 20, 2008 |title=Dion resigns but will remain as leader for now |newspaper=Toronto Star |url=https://www.thestar.com/federalelection/article/520583 |access-date=November 13, 2011 |archive-date=13 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313094318/http://www.thestar.com/federalelection/article/520583 |url-status=live }}

{{Main|2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute}}

In November 2008, the Conservative government provided the House of Commons with a fiscal update, which included austerity measures.{{cite news |date=2008-11-26 |title=Flaherty to slash public funding for federal parties |work=CTV News |url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081126/party_budgets_081126/20081126?hub=CTVNewsAt11 |url-status=dead |access-date=3 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208004824/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081126/party_budgets_081126/20081126?hub=CTVNewsAt11 |archive-date=December 8, 2008}} Since money bills are matters of confidence,{{Cite news |date=23 November 2005 |title=Factsheet: When might we vote? |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051108.wdates1108/BNStory/National/ |access-date=3 August 2010 |archive-date=20 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220123517/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051108.wdates1108/BNStory/National/ |url-status=live }} the opposition was forced to consider whether to accept the motion or bring down the government. The update was ultimately rejected by the opposition parties on the grounds that it lacked any fiscal stimulus during the ongoing economic crisis.{{cite news |date=2008-11-27 |title=Opposition parties won't support Tory economic update |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/opposition-parties-won-t-support-tory-economic-update-1.700769 |url-status=live |access-date=2008-11-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210070616/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/11/27/question-period.html |archive-date=10 December 2008}}{{cite news |last=Whittington |first=Les |author2=Richard J. Brennan |date=2008-12-02 |title=Leaders vow fast economic stimulus |publisher=Toronto Star |url=https://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/546894 |url-status=live |access-date=2008-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205073451/http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/546894 |archive-date=5 December 2008}} Rather than force a new election, Liberals and NDP reached a deal to form a minority coalition government, with support from the Bloc Québécois.{{cite news|title=NDP, Liberals reach deal to topple minority Tory government |work=CBC News |date=30 November 2008 |access-date=30 November 2008 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/details-of-proposed-liberal-ndp-coalition-emerge-1.698280 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202005758/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/11/30/canada-coalition.html |archive-date=2 December 2008 }} In the agreement, Dion would have been the Prime Minister until May, when the Liberal Party would elect his successor.{{cite news| title=Liberals, NDP, Bloc sign deal on proposed coalition| work=CBC News| date=1 December 2008| access-date=2 April 2014| url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/liberals-ndp-bloc-sign-deal-on-proposed-coalition-1.700119| archive-date=28 February 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160228223101/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/liberals-ndp-bloc-sign-deal-on-proposed-coalition-1.700119| url-status=live}} Dion sent a letter of the plan to Governor General Michaëlle Jean, and the opposition had scheduled a non-confidence motion for 8 December 2008. To draw public support, Prime Minister Harper and Dion both addressed the nation on 3 December 2008. Dion's Liberal rebuttal, however, was considered poor in production quality and delivered late to the networks, and some believed that this had undermined support for the coalition.{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=1033300 |title=How Dion's address went horribly wrong |location=OTTAWA |agency=Canwest News Service |publisher=Canada.com |date=4 December 2008 |access-date=11 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208034447/http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=1033300 |archive-date=8 December 2008 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/548049 |title=Text of Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion's address |agency=THE CANADIAN PRESS |location=OTTAWA |work=TheStar.com |date=3 December 2008 |access-date=11 January 2009 |archive-date=7 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107234246/http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/548049 |url-status=live }} On 4 December 2008, the Governor General granted Prime Minister Harper's request to suspend parliament until January 2009, thereby delaying a scheduled non-confidence vote and the likely defeat of the Conservative government.{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/gg-agrees-to-suspend-parliament-until-january-1.705593|title=GG agrees to suspend Parliament until January|publisher=CBC|access-date=2 April 2014|date=4 December 2008|archive-date=7 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407121603/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/gg-agrees-to-suspend-parliament-until-january-1.705593|url-status=live}}

Shortly afterwards, Dion came under increasing pressure from the party to immediately step down as Liberal leader.{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Regional/2008-12-06/article-1374023/Liberals-propose-plan-to-speed-up-Dion-departure/1|title=Liberals propose plan to speed up Dion departure|newspaper=The Guardian|date=6 December 2008|access-date=30 January 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150131030747/http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Regional/2008-12-06/article-1374023/Liberals-propose-plan-to-speed-up-Dion-departure/1|archive-date=31 January 2015}} On 8 December, Dion announced that he would resign the leadership as soon as an interim leader was chosen by caucus; his resignation took effect two days later, upon the selection of Michael Ignatieff as interim leader. This made Dion the second permanent Liberal leader in Canadian history not to become Prime Minister, after Edward Blake in 1887.{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dion-will-bow-out-early-to-clear-way-for-successor-1.713813|title=Dion will bow out early to clear way for successor|publisher=CBC News|date=8 December 2008|access-date=2 April 2014|archive-date=31 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331115430/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dion-will-bow-out-early-to-clear-way-for-successor-1.713813|url-status=live}}{{cite web|first=Joan | last=Bryden | agency=The Canadian Press |url=http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/canadaworld/article/453678 |title=Dion only second Liberal leader not to become prime minister |publisher=Dailygleaner.canadaeast.com |date=20 October 2008 |access-date=28 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103160026/http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/canadaworld/article/453678 |archive-date=3 January 2009 }} On his retirement, Dion became the shortest serving non-interim leader of the Liberal Party since Confederation—serving for approximately four months less time (740 days to 855 days) of the next shortest serving leader, Paul Martin (2003–2006). Dion delivered a farewell speech on 2 May 2009, at the Liberal Party leadership convention.{{cite magazine|last=Macdonald |first=Nancy |url=http://www.macleans.ca/2009/05/02/farewell-to-all-that/ |title=Farewell to all that: At the Dion tribute — Canada Blog |magazine=Maclean's |date=2 May 2009 |access-date=28 April 2010}}

File:Stéphane Dion at Carleton.jpg on 27 October 2009.]]

Ignatieff appointed a smaller shadow cabinet after being named interim leader and did not give Dion a critical role within it.{{cite news|last=Wherry|first=Aaron|title=Shadow cabinet shuffle|url=http://www.macleans.ca/2010/09/07/shadow-cabinet-shuffle/|access-date=27 August 2012|newspaper=Maclean's Magazine|date=7 September 2010|archive-date=3 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603053231/http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/09/07/shadow-cabinet-shuffle/|url-status=live}} Over the course of Ignatieff's time as leader Dion stayed out of the limelight, working quietly in his riding and expressing his views privately to Ignatieff.{{cite news|last=Taber|first=Jane|title=Stéphane Dion steps out of the Liberal shadows|url=http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/stphane-dion-steps-out-of-the-liberal-shadows/article2067791/?service=mobile|access-date=27 August 2012|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=5 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904122328/http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/stphane-dion-steps-out-of-the-liberal-shadows/article2067791/?service=mobile|archive-date=4 September 2011|url-status=dead}}

In September 2009, it was reported that Denis Coderre, Ignatieff's Quebec lieutenant, was attempting to oust Dion and fellow Montreal-area MPs Raymonde Folco, Lise Zarac, and Bernard Patry for the next election, with the hope of replacing them with star candidates.{{cite news|last=Erikson|first=Krista|title=Ignatieff rejects Cauchon's bid to re-enter politics|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ignatieff-rejects-cauchon-s-bid-to-re-enter-politics-1.788187|access-date=16 May 2018|newspaper=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=21 September 2009|archive-date=10 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210010933/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ignatieff-rejects-cauchon-s-bid-to-re-enter-politics-1.788187|url-status=live}} However, Coderre ended up resigning as Quebec Lieutenant during this time over conflicting views with Ignatieff and his inner circle.{{cite news|title=Liberal MP Coderre quits as Quebec lieutenant|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/liberal-mp-coderre-quits-as-quebec-lieutenant-1.776063|access-date=16 May 2018|newspaper=Canadian Broadcasting corporation|date=28 September 2009|archive-date=14 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314150632/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/liberal-mp-coderre-quits-as-quebec-lieutenant-1.776063|url-status=live}}

In the 2011 election, the Liberal Party placed third in a federal election for the first time in Canadian history.{{cite news|title=Harper: Majority win turns page on uncertainties|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/harper-majority-win-turns-page-on-uncertainties-1.991315|access-date=16 May 2018|newspaper=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=2 May 2011|archive-date=18 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718024057/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/harper-majority-win-turns-page-on-uncertainties-1.991315|url-status=live}} Dion was one of just seven Liberal MPs re-elected in his home province, he won 43.43 per cent of the popular in his riding which was the highest vote share for a Liberal in Quebec.{{cite news|last=Payton|first=Laura|title=NDP surge in Quebec wipes out Bloc|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ndp-surge-in-quebec-wipes-out-bloc-1.991369|access-date=16 May 2018|newspaper=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=2 May 2011|archive-date=31 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331205319/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ndp-surge-in-quebec-wipes-out-bloc-1.991369|url-status=live}} In the 41st Parliament, Dion had a much more prominent role within the Liberal caucus than he had after his resignation as leader in 2008. Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae appointed Dion as the Liberals Critic for Intergovernmental Affairs and spokesman for la Francophonie. A month after the election Dion attended the NDP's federal convention as the observer for the Liberal Party, at that time he called on NDP leader not to appease separatists as a way to maintain his party's support in Quebec. He also criticized the NDP's policy that 50-per-cent-plus-one in a referendum would justify Quebec separating from Canada.{{cite news|last=Bailey|first=Ian|title=Former Liberal leader Dion makes appearance at NDP convention|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/former-liberal-leader-dion-makes-appearance-at-ndp-convention/article583658/|access-date=6 April 2021|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=19 June 2011|archive-date=21 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921080416/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/former-liberal-leader-dion-makes-appearance-at-ndp-convention/article583658/|url-status=live}}

In November 2011, Dion was awarded with the Fray International Sustainability Award at Fray International Symposium in Mexico, for his work and advocacy towards sustainable development.{{cite web |title=Hon. Stéphane Dion is awarded with Fray International Sustainability Award in Mexico |url=https://www.flogen.org/?p=20&sp=1&bio=Dion |access-date=19 February 2018 |website=flogen.org |publisher=FLOGEN Star OUTREACH |language=en |archive-date=27 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927102032/https://www.flogen.org/?p=20&sp=1&bio=Dion |url-status=live }}

{{see also|Foreign policy of the Justin Trudeau government}}

File:Secretary Kerry and Canadian Foreign Minister Dion Shake Hands Before Their Meeting at NATO Ministerial (23340939012).jpg in Brussels, Belgium, 1 December 2015]]The 2015 election was a resounding victory for Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party, and Dion was comfortably re-elected to an eighth term representing the newly reformulated Saint-Laurent riding.{{cite news|last=Goldenberg|first=Joel|title=Dion wins easily in St. Laurent|url=http://www.thesuburban.com/news/city_news/dion-wins-easily-in-st-laurent/article_37374f4d-1ad0-5d78-a38c-4c3f9ff8e4d7.html|access-date=30 October 2015|newspaper=The Suburban|date=21 October 2015|archive-date=11 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811080817/http://www.thesuburban.com/news/city_news/dion-wins-easily-in-st-laurent/article_37374f4d-1ad0-5d78-a38c-4c3f9ff8e4d7.html|url-status=live}} On 4 November 2015, Dion was appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Justin Trudeau's cabinet. Dion was also named as chair of the cabinet's committee on environment and climate change.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/the-redemption-of-stephane-dion/ | title=The redemption of Stéphane Dion | magazine=Maclean's | date=4 November 2015 | access-date=4 November 2015 | author=Wherry, Aaron}} As a senior cabinet minister, Dion was third in the order of succession.{{cite web | url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-cabinet-fine-print-details-buried-1.3307475 | title=Justin Trudeau's cabinet: 6 changes found in the fine print | publisher=CBC News | date=7 November 2015 | access-date=7 November 2015 | author=McGregor, Janyce | archive-date=7 November 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107133135/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-cabinet-fine-print-details-buried-1.3307475 | url-status=live }} One of his first foreign policy statements included a call to diffuse Sunni-Shiite tensions in the aftermath of Nimr al-Nimrs execution.{{cite web| url = http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/canada-decries-mass-execution-in-saudi-arabia-which-killed-47/| title = Canada decries mass execution in Saudi Arabia which killed 47 - Maclean's| access-date = 8 January 2016| archive-date = 8 January 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160108175918/http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/canada-decries-mass-execution-in-saudi-arabia-which-killed-47/| url-status = live}}

In a March 2016 speech at the University of Ottawa, Dion used "responsible conviction" – a term syncretized from the work of German sociologist Max Weber – to describe the Trudeau government's foreign policy. Dion sought re-engagement with the world, including authoritarian regimes such as Russia and Iran and a focus on multilateralism, climate change, and the United Nations. Dion indicated that Canada would oppose capital punishment for Canadians imprisoned abroad and would change its contribution to the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from providing airstrikes to providing special forces trainers. Dion also tied the concept of responsible conviction to continuing some policies of the previous Stephen Harper government in a modified manner, such as continuing its maternal and newborn health initiative but with new funding for abortion and family planning. He also justified continuing a $15 billion sale of light armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia despite its human rights abuses to protect Canadian jobs and preserve Canada's credibility in signing major international deals, but committed to reassessing the rules on Canadian export permits so that future deals would conform to Canadian interests such as human rights promotion. Dion ended his speech by rejecting the concept of Canada as an honest broker, because that term had become too associated with moral relativism and lack of conviction, instead saying that Canada had to be "a fair-minded and determined peace builder."{{Cite news|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/2605134/responsible-conviction-will-drive-canadas-foreign-policy-dion/|title='Responsible conviction' will drive Canada's foreign policy: Dion|last=Blanchfield|first=Mike|date=29 March 2016|work=Global News|access-date=15 May 2017|agency=The Canadian Press|language=en|archive-date=26 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826180256/http://globalnews.ca/news/2605134/responsible-conviction-will-drive-canadas-foreign-policy-dion/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/stephane-dion-how-ethics-inspires-liberal-foreign-policy/|title=Stéphane Dion: On 'responsible conviction' and Liberal foreign policy – Maclean's|date=29 March 2016|work=Maclean's|access-date=15 May 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=26 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426032201/http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/stephane-dion-how-ethics-inspires-liberal-foreign-policy/|url-status=live}}

Dion was dropped entirely from the cabinet in Prime Minister Trudeau's 10 January 2017 cabinet shuffle and replaced as Minister of Foreign Affairs by Chrystia Freeland. The move, which was bitterly resented by Dion, was seen in part as a response to United States President-elect Donald Trump's incoming presidency.{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Fife|title=Trudeau prepares for the Trump era with cabinet shuffle|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/trudeau-to-shuffle-cabinet-before-trump-inauguration/article33554223/|access-date=10 January 2017|work=The Globe and Mail|date=9 January 2017|archive-date=10 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110094510/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/trudeau-to-shuffle-cabinet-before-trump-inauguration/article33554223/|url-status=live}}Analysis: Philip Authier, Stéphane Dion abruptly quits as Trudeau bolsters cabinet to face Trump era [https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/stephane-dion-quits-political-life-after-being-dumped-from-trudeau-cabinet], Montreal Gazette, 11 January 2017

Dion announced his retirement from politics, making no mention of either potential position, in a statement released shortly after the cabinet shuffle.{{cite news|last1=Steuter-Martin|first1=Marilla|title=Stéphane Dion steps away from politics, calls career 'an incredible adventure'|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/stephane-dion-politics-career-cabinet-minister-1.3929794|access-date=14 January 2017|work=CBC News|date=11 January 2017|archive-date=4 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404115708/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/stephane-dion-politics-career-cabinet-minister-1.3929794|url-status=live}} He confirmed, in his farewell speech to the House of Commons on 31 January 2017, that he had accepted the position of Ambassador to the EU and Germany instead of accepting an offer from the Université de Montréal.{{cite web| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/dion-mccallum-china-ambassador-1.3960087| title = Stéphane Dion accepts role as ambassador to EU and Germany, as he and John McCallum depart House {{!}} CBC News| access-date = 31 January 2017| archive-date = 4 April 2017| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170404120205/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/dion-mccallum-china-ambassador-1.3960087| url-status = live}} His resignation from Parliament officially took effect on 6 February 2017.{{Cite web|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/Parliamentarians/en/members/Stephane-Dion(460)/Roles|title=Roles – Hon. Stéphane Dion – Current and Past – Members of Parliament – House of Commons of Canada|access-date=8 February 2017|archive-date=11 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211155724/http://www.parl.gc.ca/Parliamentarians/en/members/Stephane-Dion(460)/Roles|url-status=live}}

Dion served as Ambassador to Germany until 1 June 2022, when he was appointed Canada's Ambassador to France and Monaco while retaining his role as special envoy to the European Union.{{cite web|title=Prime Minister announces appointment of the Honourable Stéphane Dion as Canada's Ambassador to France|url=https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2022/06/01/prime-minister-announces-appointment-honourable-stephane-dion-canadas|access-date=20 October 2022|work=Prime Minister of Canada|date=1 June 2022|archive-date=19 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019101848/https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2022/06/01/prime-minister-announces-appointment-honourable-stephane-dion-canadas|url-status=live}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|2015|Saint-Laurent (federal electoral district){{!}}Saint-Laurent|percent=yes|change=yes|expenditures=yes}}

{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Stéphane Dion|24,832|61.6|+18.74}}

{{CANelec|CA|Conservative|Jimmy Yu|7,867|19.5|+0.39}}

{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Alain Ackad|4,646|11.5|-17.57}}

{{CANelec|CA|BQ|Pascal-Olivier Dumas-Dubreuil|1,879|4.7|-1.73}}

{{CANelec|CA|Green|John Tromp|977|2.4|+0.31}}

{{CANelec|CA|Marxist-Leninist|Fernand Deschamps|129|0.3|–}}

{{Canadian election result/total|Total valid votes/|40,330|100.0  | }}

{{Canadian election result/total|Total rejected ballots|409|–|–}}

{{Canadian election result/total|Turnout|40,739|–|–}}

{{Canadian election result/total|Eligible voters|69,078}}

{{CANelec/source|Source: Elections Canada{{Cite web |url=http://www.elections.ca/Scripts/vis/candidates?L=e&ED=24068&EV=41&EV_TYPE=1&PC=&PROV=QC&PROVID=24&MAPID=&QID=8&PAGEID=17&TPAGEID=&PD=&STAT_CODE_ID=-1 |title=Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Saint-Laurent, 30 September 2015 |access-date=30 October 2015 |archive-date=3 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003035657/http://www.elections.ca/Scripts/vis/candidates?L=e&ED=24068&EV=41&EV_TYPE=1&PC=&PROV=QC&PROVID=24&MAPID=&QID=8&PAGEID=17&TPAGEID=&PD=&STAT_CODE_ID=-1 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.elections.ca/content2.aspx?section=can&dir=cand/canlim&document=index&lang=e|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304045200/http://www.elections.ca/content2.aspx?section=can&dir=cand%2Fcanlim&document=index&lang=e|url-status=dead|title=Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates|archivedate=4 March 2016}}}}

{{end}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|2011|Saint-Laurent—Cartierville|percent=yes|change=yes}}

{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Stéphane Dion|17,726 |43.43 |–}}

{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Marias Ximena Florez |11,948 |29.28 |–}}

{{CANelec|CA|Conservative|Svetlana Litvin Fayad|7,124 |17.46 |–}}

{{CANelec|CA|BQ|William Fayad |2,981 |7.3 |–}}

{{CANelec|CA|Green|Tim Landry |857|2.1 |–}}

{{CANelec|CA|Marxist-Leninist|Fernand Deschamps|176|0.43 |–}}

{{Canadian election result/total|Total valid votes|–| 100.0%}}{{cite web|last=CBC |title=Canada Votes |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/map/fullscreen.html#/98 |work=Canada Votes 2011 – CBC |access-date=3 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504105533/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/map/fullscreen.html |archive-date=4 May 2011 }}

{{end}}

Source: [https://archive.today/20130115142853/http://www.elections.ca/scripts/pss/candidates.aspx?L=e&ED=24066&EV=34&EV_TYPE=1&PC=&Prov=QC&ProvID=24&MapID=&QID=8&PageID=17&TPageID= Elections Canada]

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|2008|Saint-Laurent—Cartierville|percent=yes|change=yes}}

{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Stéphane Dion|25,095|61.7% |+1.9%}}

{{CANelec|CA|Conservative|Dennis Galiatsatos|6,999|17.2% |+4.0%}}

{{CANelec|CA|BQ|Jacques Lachaine|4,611| 11.3% |-3.2% }}

{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Jérôme Rodrigues|3,654| 9.0% |+1.3% }}

{{CANelec|CA|Marxist-Leninist|Fernand Deschamps|299|0.7% |+0.3%}}

{{Canadian election result/total|Total valid votes|40,658|100.0% }}

{{Canadian election result/total|Total rejected ballots|454| }}

{{Canadian election result/total|Turnout|41,112| %}}

{{end}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|2006|Saint-Laurent—Cartierville|percent=yes|change=yes}}

{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Stéphane Dion|25,412|59.8%|-7.0% }}

{{CANelec|CA|BQ|William Fayad|6,192|14.6%| -2.7%}}

{{CANelec|CA|Conservative|Ishrat Alam|5,590|13.2%|+7.0% }}

{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Liz Elder|3,279|7.7%| +1.5%}}

{{CANelec|CA|Green|Gilles Mercier|1,810|4.3%|+2.2% }}

{{CANelec|CA|Marxist-Leninist|Fernand Deschamps|177|0.4% | +0.1%}}

{{Canadian election result/total|Total valid votes|42,460|100.0% }}

{{end}}

{{2004 Canadian federal election/Saint-Laurent—Cartierville}}

{{2000 Canadian federal election/Saint-Laurent—Cartierville}}

{{1997 Canadian federal election/Saint-Laurent—Cartierville}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|25 March 1996|by=yes|Saint-Laurent—Cartierville|by-link=By-elections_to_the_35th_Canadian_Parliament|percent=yes|change=yes|expenditures=yes}}

{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Stéphane Dion|21,336|79.3|+9.5| }}

{{CANelec|CA|BQ|Michel Sarra-Bournet|4,000|14.9|-3.8| }}

{{CANelec|CA|PC|G. Garo Toubi|699|13.9|+6.5| }}

{{CANelec|CA|Reform|Shaul Petel|441|1.6| | }}

{{CANelec|CA|Independent|Carole Caron|229|0.9%| | }}

{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Sara Mayo|212|0.8%|-1.2| }}

{{Canadian election result/total|Total valid votes|26,917|100.0%}}

{{CANelec/hold|CA|Liberal|+6.65}}

{{CANelec/note|By-election due to the appointment of Shirley Maheu to the Senate on 31 January 1996.}}

{{end}}

• Stephane Dion has received many Honorary Degrees, These Include

;Honorary Degrees

{{Incomplete list|date=November 2018}}

• List of foreign ministers in 2017
• Université Laval

{{Reflist|refs={{cite news| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/full-list-of-justin-trudeau-s-cabinet-1.3300699| title = Full list of Justin Trudeau's cabinet 31-member cabinet includes 15 women, attempt at regional balance| publisher = CBC News| date = 2015-11-04| access-date = 4 November 2015| archive-date = 3 April 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190403163026/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/full-list-of-justin-trudeau-s-cabinet-1.3300699| url-status = live}}}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Stéphane Dion}}
• {{Wikinews inline|Stéphane Dion}}
• {{Wikiquote-inline|Stéphane Dion}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060215194715/http://www.howdtheyvote.ca/member.php?id=89 How'd They Vote?: Stéphane Dion's voting history and quotes]
• {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=10569}}
• [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/stephane-dion Canadian Encyclopedia entry on Stéphane Dion]

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