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Pierre Claude Nolin (born October 30, 1950) is a Canadian politician and Senator.
Life Before Politics
Born in Montreal, Quebec, he attended the University of Ottawa in his youth and recieved a Degree in Law in 1975. In 1976, Nolin married Camille Desjardins. He has three children - Simon, Louis and Virginie. Nolin was a key Quebec backroom supporter and organizer for Prime Minister Brian Mulroney beginning with Mulroney's first attempt to become Progressive Conservative Party leader in 1976. He was rewarded for his loyalty to Mulroney with an appointment to the Canadian Senate on June 18, 1993.
Quebec Senator
For ten years, Nolin worked actively as a high-profile member of the PC Party Senate Caucus. In 2002, Nolin rose eyebrows by chairing and supporting the recommendations of the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs to fully decriminalize and legalize the use of marijuana in Canada. Nolin supported the union of the PC Party and the Canadian Alliance in 2003. Nolin supported auto-parts magnate Belinda Stronach during the 2004 CPC Leadership race. Since former Tory MP André Bachand's departure from politics in June 2004, Nolin has surreptisiously become the "Quebec strongman" in the new Conservative Party of Canada parliamentary caucus. Nolin is largely seen as a influential Red Tory, which is in line with most of the Conservatives that have come from Quebec in recent decades. In January 2005, Nolin announced that the Quebec-wing of the CPC would be bringing forward a host of "moderate" principles to the April 2005 CPC Policy Convention in Montreal, including a motion to support the rights of married same-sex couples to equal status in the courts of law.
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