Michel Arsenault

President of the Québec Federation of Labour and Chairman of the Board of the Solidarity Fund QFL

In November 2007 Michel Arsenault was named president of Québec’s largest union, the Québec Federation of Labour (QFL).

Mr. Arsenault is also Chairman of the Board and of the Executive Committee of the Solidarity Fund QFL. As well, he is a member of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), the central labour body with which the QFL is affiliated, and of the Executive Bureau of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), a prominent international union congress.

In addition, Mr. Arsenault serves on the boards of the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail du Québec (CSST) and the Conseil consultatif du travail et de la main-d’œuvre (CCTM).

Before his appointment as president of the QFL, Mr. Arsenault was the Québec director of the Steelworkers Union, where he held various positions since 1974 in Sept-Îles, Québec City, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Montréal. During his time with the USW, he coordinated the negotiations of various collective bargaining agreements with large multinationals in the metallurgy and mining sectors.

While with the USW, Mr. Arsenault spent five years as assistant to the Canadian director in Toronto, where his responsibilities included overseeing the USW’s international affairs. As well, Mr. Arsenault was vice-president of the QFL and a member of the Solidarity Fund QFL board of directors from December 2000 until his new appointment.

Michel Arsenault holds a Graduate Diploma in Labour Relations from Université du Québec.