Steven Guilbeault

Guilbeault became president of his faculty’s student association and also took part in activities organized by Equitas (known at the time as the Canadian Human Rights Foundation). He was also active in the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ), where he made the acquaintance of François Rebello and Nicolas Girard, who would later enter the world of politics. He also joined the Groupe de recherche en intérêt public (GRIP), created out of the protest movement spearheaded by Ralph Nader, the renowned American consumer advocate. There he met Laure Waridel, Sydney Ribaux and François Meloche, with whom he would go on to found Équiterre a few years later.

On June 19, 2019, Guilbeault announced that he was seeking the Liberal Party of Canada nomination for the riding of Laurier—Sainte-Marie in the 2019 Canadian federal election. On October 21, 2019, he was elected with 41.77% of the vote, flipping a riding once held by New Democratic Party MP Hélène Laverdière. On November 20, 2019, Guilbeault was named as the Minister of Canadian Heritage in the 29th Canadian Ministry, succeeding now-Government House Leader and fellow Montréaler Pablo Rodríguez.

In 2016, Guilbeault received the Impératif français award recognizing his contribution to the vitality of the French language and French culture.

In 2012 Guilbeault received the Médaille de l’Université de Montréal. In 2014, he received the Blanche-Lemco-Van-Ginkel award from the Ordre des urbanistes du Québec for his significant contribution to urban planning in Quebec.

Since 2009, Guilbeault has been a strategic consultant for Cycle Capital Management’s venture capital fund, which is dedicated to developing clean technologies.

In 2009, Guilbeault became a member of the Cercle des Phénix de l’environnement du Québec. He is also an honourary fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. He was recognized as one of the 35 most influential figures in the past 35 years by the Fondation Marie-Vincent in 2010 and as an Americas Leader by the US magazine Americas Quarterly.

In 2008, he returned to Équiterre, which he had cofounded fifteen years earlier, to work on climate change issues. He left that position in autumn 2018.

In 1997, Guilbeault joined Greenpeace Canada. He was put in charge of its climate change division and he managed the climate and energy campaign before being the organization's Quebec bureau chief in 2000. In 2005, he coordinated the climate campaign for Greenpeace International. On four different occasions, Guilbeault made headlines for Greenpeace. His best known feat was scaling Toronto’s CN Tower in 2001, accompanied by British militant Chris Holden. At the time the tower was the tallest in the world. After ascending to a height of 340m, they unfurled a banner that read: "Canada and Bush Climate Killers." Guilbeault and Holden were arrested and charged with mischief for the stunt. The goal was to grab the world’s attention a week before the UN’s sixth conference on climate change, where the fate of the Kyoto Protocol would be decided. Guilbeault remained Greenpeace’s Quebec spokesperson until June 8, 2007, at which time he announced his resignation.

Guilbeault sat on the board of the Agence de l'efficacité énergétique from 2007 to 2009 and chaired the Committee on Emerging Renewable Energy from 2009 to 2011 for the Government of Quebec. He also sat on the climate change advisory committees of three successive Quebec governments: Jean Charest’s Liberals, Pauline Marois’ Parti Québécois, and subsequently co-chairing the committee formed by Philippe Couillard’s Liberal government starting in 2014.

Guilbeault has been a commentator for Radio-Canada, CBC, La Presse and Corporate Knights magazine, and has been a columnist for the Métro newspaper for nearly a decade. He worked as a senior consultant for Deloitte and Touche, and served as co-chair of Climate Action Network - International for five years. He also chaired the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal's Committee on Sustainable Development from 2007 to 2010.

Stéphane Dion, former federal Minister of the Environment and Climate Change (2004-2006), of Intergovernmental Affairs (1995-2003) and of Foreign Affairs (2015-2017), remarked that Guilbeault "is among the select few in the environmental community with whom it is important to remain in contact, because his reactions and his opinions will count". Kalee Kreider, formerly with Greenpeace and former communications director for Al Gore, said that Steven Guilbeault "has at once gained the respect of those in government, NGOs and industry."

After the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1993, Guilbeault, Laure Waridel, Elizabeth Hunter, Patrick Henn, François Meloche and Sidney Ribaux founded Action for Solidarity, Equity, Environment and Development (ASEED). It acquired not-for-profit status in 1995. In 1998 it was rebranded as Équiterre. The organization's goal is to propose concrete solutions to make Canada a society where sustainable development and social economy would be central to the actions and concerns of its citizens, organizations and government. Steven Guilbeault was a member of Équiterre's board of directors for many years.

While in university, Guilbeault worked for two years (1992-1993) with the Canadian Human Rights Foundation, an organization dedicated to educating people, both at home and abroad, about human rights issues.

After taking computer science in CEGEP, he enrolled in industrial relations at l'Université de Montréal in 1989. A year later, he switched his major to political science. He minored in theology, exploring questions of international morality, liberation theology, poverty and the environment.

Steven Guilbeault PC MP (born June 9, 1970) is a Canadian politician. A founding member of Équiterre, a Quebec environmental organization, he was also director and campaign manager for the Greenpeace Quebec chapter for ten years. Guilbeault stepped down as senior director and spokesperson for Équiterre in November 2018 and in July 2019 was nominated as federal Liberal candidate in central Montreal riding Laurier–Sainte-Marie for the Canadian general election in October 2019.  He currently serves as the Minister of Canadian Heritage.