Jean-Martin Aussant

Jean-Martin Aussant
Born	1970 Sorel, Quebec, Canada
Occupation(s)	Economist, musician, political figure
Years active	1993–present
Known for	Executive Director of Chantier de l'économie sociale; Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Nicolet-Yamaska (2008–2012); Founder and leader of Option nationale

Jean-Martin Aussant () is a Canadian economist, musician, and political figure who currently serves as the Executive Director of the Chantier de l'économie sociale. He was the representative for Nicolet-Yamaska in the National Assembly of Quebec between 2008 and 2012. Initially affiliated with the Parti Québécois, he later founded and led his own political party, Option nationale. After losing the 2012 election in Nicolet-Bécancour, Aussant returned to the Parti Québécois and ran unsuccessfully in the 2018 Quebec provincial election.

Early life and professional background

A native of Sorel, Quebec, Aussant earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Université Laval in 1993, followed by a master's degree in Economic Analysis from the Université de Montréal in 1995. He commenced doctoral studies at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona but discontinued them in 1997 to work as a consultant for Barra International, now part of MSCI.

Between 1999 and 2003, Aussant held the positions of research director and portfolio manager at Addenda Capital. Subsequently, he served as vice-president at Morgan Stanley Capital International/Barra in London until 2005. Upon returning to Quebec, he took on investment management responsibilities for Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board before establishing his own consulting firm. Additionally, he was instrumental in founding the Montreal chapters of both the Global Association of Risk Professionals and the Professional Risk Managers' International Association.

Member of the Parti Québécois

In the 2008 election, Aussant secured a seat in the National Assembly by narrowly defeating his Liberal opponent by a margin of 141 votes, marking one of the closest contests in the province. While the Liberals formed a majority government under Premier Jean Charest, the Parti Québécois assumed the role of official opposition. Aussant was appointed as critic for financial institutions and international commerce, and participated on the legislative committee overseeing public finances.

He publicly opposed Premier Charest’s 2009 nomination of Michael Sabia as head of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, criticizing Sabia’s previous involvement in relocating management of BCE Inc. from Montreal to Toronto, which Aussant argued conflicted with Quebec’s economic interests. In 2010, he asserted that Sabia's risk management decisions had resulted in losses amounting to $6 billion for Quebecers.

Following revelations about investment advisor Earl Jones in 2009, Aussant pushed for mandatory registration requirements for financial advisors under Quebec’s financial markets regulator and advocated for establishing a parliamentary inquiry into economic crimes.

In 2010, he proposed that Quebec could achieve savings close to $840 million by assuming tax collection responsibilities currently handled by the Canada Revenue Agency. Aussant also voiced opposition to a potential merger between the London Stock Exchange and the TMX Group, warning that such a consolidation would be detrimental to Quebec’s financial sector. The TMX Group had taken control of the Montreal Stock Exchange in 2008 under supervision from Quebec's Autorité des marchés financiers.

Aussant was aligned with the Parti Québécois' staunch indépendantiste faction known as pur et dur. Prior to leaving the party, he co-created a video initiative alongside three other PQ MNAs—known as ABCD (Aussant, Blanchet, Cloutier, Drainville)—aimed at advocating for an independent Quebec.

Independent

On June 7, 2011, Aussant departed from the Parti Québécois caucus along with Louise Beaudoin, Pierre Curzi, and Lisette Lapointe. While the others opposed PQ leader Pauline Marois over legislation supporting a contentious Quebec City-Quebecor arena agreement, Aussant criticized Marois for minimizing the importance of Quebec sovereignty and called for her to step down.

During his tenure as an independent member, Aussant introduced proposals including Bill 596 aimed at reforming Quebec’s democratic framework. This bill advocated for proportional representation, fixed election dates, the elimination of private funding for political parties, and the introduction of citizen-initiated measures requiring support from 5% of voters. He declined to join the new movement led by former PQ minister François Legault, citing fundamental disagreements on sovereignty issues and condemning it as "populism of the worst kind."

Option nationale

Following his exit from the PQ, Aussant established Option nationale, which was officially registered on October 31, 2011. The party distinguished itself by adopting a stronger commitment to Quebec sovereignty than the PQ, aiming to secure an electoral mandate for full independence prior to holding a referendum on a new sovereign constitution.

In an effort to engage anglophone voters, Aussant emphasized bilingualism and multilingualism, producing a sovereigntist video in English and advocating for increased investment in bilingual education—an inclusive strategy that earned commendation from the National Post. Despite these initiatives, Option nationale failed to elect any candidates; Aussant narrowly lost his own seat to a Coalition Avenir Québec contender but succeeded in relegating the PQ to fourth place in that riding.

On June 19, 2013, Aussant stepped down as party leader due to "family and personal reasons." By August of that year, he relocated to Britain to resume work with Morgan Stanley Capital International, explaining that employment opportunities in Quebec were limited possibly because of his separatist activism.

Return to the Parti Québécois

Aussant later rejoined the Parti Québécois and stood as its candidate in the 2018 election representing Pointe-aux-Trembles. Nevertheless, he was unsuccessful in securing the seat.