André Pratte

André Pratte (born May 12, 1957) is a Canadian journalist and former senator who represented the De Salaberry division in Quebec. Before being appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 18, 2016, Pratte was a journalist for over 35 years and was editor-in-chief of the Montreal newspaper La Presse. He was a member of the Independent Senators Group.

Early and personal life Pratte was born in Quebec City, Quebec and studied political science at the University of Montreal and graduated in 1980. Pratte's father, Yves Pratte (1925–1988), was a lawyer, chairperson of Air Canada (1968–1975), justice on the Supreme Court of Canada (1977–1979) and director of Power Corporation and Power Financial. His brother, Guy Pratte, is a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais. Guy Pratte, called to both the Ontario and Quebec Bar, received the Law Society of Ontario Medal in 2019 for exceptional career achievement and contribution to his community. He received the OBA Award of Excellence in Civil Litigation in 2019 from the Ontario Bar Association and was also named Advocatus Emeritus by the Québec Bar for "outstanding contributions to the legal profession."

Journalism career Before even finishing his degree, he was offered a position at CKAC, a francophone radio station in Montreal. Between 1979 and 1986, he worked there as a writer, reporter, parliamentary correspondent in Ottawa and deputy news editor.

In 1986, Pratte started his career in print journalism at La Presse and was employed by the paper until 2015. He worked as a columnist and political editor. Succeeding Alain Dubuc, he became editor-in-chief in 2001, defending the federalist and fiscally centre-right political stance of the paper.

In 1994, Pratte was suspended from La Presse after publishing a column entitled “Tout est pourri” [It's all rotten], in which he criticized Power Corporation, the newspaper's owner at the time. After pressure from the newspaper's union of journalists, he was reinstated in his role at La Presse.

In 2009, Pratte co-founded The Federal Idea, a Quebec-based, non-partisan think tank focused on federalism, and served as chair of its board of directors until 2014.

After leaving the senate, Pratte contributes for Postmedia properties such as the National Post and Montreal Gazette.

Political career

Senate of Canada Following a reform of the Senate appointment process, the goal of which was to make the Senate less partisan, Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed André Pratte on March 18, 2016, as part of the first wave of independent nominations.

Senator Pratte has sponsored four bills in the Upper House:

2016: Bill C-10, An Act to amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act and to provide for certain other measures 2017: Bill C-30, Canada–European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act 2018: Bill C-86, Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2 2019: Bill C-71, An Act to amend certain Acts and Regulations in relation to firearms

Pratte was Deputy Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance, a member of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs and a member of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence. He resigned his position on October 21, 2019, the date of the 2019 Canadian federal election.

Provincial politics From 2023 to 2025, Pratte co-chaired the Quebec Liberal Party’s Consultation and Reflection Committee with MNA Madwa-Nika Cadet. In 2026, Pratte returned to PLQ's National Political Commission where he will be develop the party’s platform for the upcoming election.