Sam Hamad

Sam Hamad (born June 17, 1958) is a Canadian politician. He is the former member of National Assembly (MNA) for the riding of Louis-Hebert in the Quebec City region. Member of the Quebec Liberal Party, he has held various cabinet posts during his 14 years in the National Assembly. He was the Minister of Natural Resources, Minister for Transports and he was also the Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity, Minister of Labour and Minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region. Born in Damascus, Syria, Hamad moved to Quebec City and studied civil engineering at Université Laval where he received both a bachelor's and master's degree. He also studied at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières where he obtained a master's degree in management. His birth name was Samer Hamed-Allah but he changed it when he moved to Quebec, saying that Samer sounded too much like the French words "sa mère" (meaning "his mother"). He was an administration member for the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec for nine years, while he was also a lecturer at Université Laval and the Université du Québec à Rimouski and the President of the Quebec Board of Trade and Industry. He was also involved in the community, being the vice-president of Centraide-Quebec a board member of the Laval Hospital Foundation. He was also part of several associations promoting development in the region including the GATIQ which promoted advance technologies and innovations for the region. Before making his foray into politics, Hamad was Vice-President of Groupe Roche, an influential engineering firm, from 1998 to 2003. Hamed entered politics in 2003, where he became the MNA for Louis-Hebert as the Liberals led by Jean Charest defeated the Parti Québécois. He would be named Minister of Wildlife, Natural Resources and Parks and the Minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale (Quebec) region. He was removed from Cabinet in 2005 after he was criticized in regard to a project which would have added a new thermo plant in the Suroit region. Hamad was narrowly re-elected in 2007.