Bernard Trottier

Conservative MP Bernard Trottier grew up in St. Paul, Alberta, a largely francophone community of 5,000 people in the northeast corner of Alberta. Bernard's father was one of three doctors in the community, his mother a well-known painter and sculptor. At 18, Bernard came to the House of Commons for the first time and spent a year working as a page. Bernard earned his engineering degree at the University of Alberta and worked a few years as a consultant, only to return to school a few years later, this time at the University of Western Ontario in their Masters of Business Administration program. Bernard worked as a business consultant in France and later for IBM in Toronto. In 2011, Trottier defeated Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff to take the seat of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. Married to Susan Schutta, they have two children together, Zoe 9 and Alexandre is 11. Bernard Trottier talks to Catherine Clark about his life Beyond Politics.