Richard Martel

Richard Martel (born 23 March 1961) is a Canadian politician and former ice hockey coach who has served as a senator from Quebec (Rougemont) since 2026. Before his appointment to the Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Mark Carney, Martel was a member of Parliament (MP) with the Conservative Party, representing Chicoutimi—Le Fjord in the House of Commons from 2018 to 2026.

He last coached the Grenoble Brûleurs de Loups in the French Ligue Magnus. Between 1993 and 2011, Martel served as a head coach in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

Coaching career Martel was an assistant coach under Jos Canale from 1991 to 1993 in Chicoutimi. Between 1993 and 2011, Martel served as a head coach in the QMJHL where he twice won the Ron Lapointe Trophy as the QMJHL coach of the year. On 28 February 2010, Martel became the most successful coach in the history of the QMJHL when he coached the Chicoutimi Saguenéens to a 3–1 victory over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to win his 570th QMJHL game, surpassing the record previously held by Guy Chouinard.

Coaching record

QMJHL Team Year Regular season Post Season G W L T OTL W-L% Finish Result Saint-Hyacinthe 1993-94 72 35 30 7 0 .535 4th in Lebel Eliminated - Round 1 Saint-Hyacinthe 1994-95 72 26 42 4 0 .389 5th in Lebel Eliminated - Round 1 Val-d'Or 1995-96 70 39 24 7 0 .607 3rd in Lebel Eliminated - Round 2 Val-d'Or 1996-97 70 40 28 2 0 .586 3rd in Lebel Eliminated - Semi Finals Val-d'Or 1997-98 58 29 23 6 0 .552 (replaced mid-season) — Baie-Comeau 1998-99 53 17 32 4 0 .358 7th in Dilio Missed playoffs Baie-Comeau 1999-00 72 31 31 5 5 .500 3rd in East Eliminated - Round 1 Baie-Comeau 2000-01 72 41 23 8 0 .625 1st in East Eliminated - Semi Finals Baie-Comeau 2001-02 72 38 25 7 2 .590 2nd in East Eliminated - Round 1 Baie-Comeau 2002-03 72 50 14 6 2 .750 1st in East Eliminated - Semi Finals Chicoutimi 2003-04 42 23 13 5 1 .619 2nd in Eastern Eliminated - Semi Finals Chicoutimi 2004-05 70 38 19 6 7 .636 2nd in Eastern Eliminated - Semi Finals Chicoutimi 2005-06 70 51 15 0 4 .757 2nd in Western Eliminated - Round 2 Chicoutimi 2006-07 70 34 28 0 8 .543 8th in Telus Eliminated - Round 1 Chicoutimi 2007-08 70 37 25 0 8 .585 4th in Telus Eliminated - Round 1 Chicoutimi 2008-09 68 24 32 0 12 .441 3rd in Telus East Eliminated - Round 1 Chicoutimi 2009-10 68 26 33 0 9 .449 3rd in Telus East Eliminated - Round 1 Chicoutimi 2009-10 50 18 22 0 10 .460 (replaced mid-season) — Total 1191 597 459 67 68 Win%: .501

Source: Career profile

Awards and honours Award Year Ron Lapointe Trophy - QMJHL Coach of the Year 1993–94 Ron Lapointe Trophy - QMJHL Coach of the Year 2004–05

Political career

On 20 December 2017, Martel was named the Conservative candidate for an upcoming by-election in the federal electoral district of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, as a star candidate. Martel was recruited by a former player, Antoine Tardif, who served as the party's chief organizer in Quebec. Martel had previously been courted to run for mayor of Saguenay as well as the National Assembly of Quebec.

Martel was elected as a Member of Parliament on 18 June 2018, gaining the seat from the Liberals.

He was reelected in the 2019 Canadian federal election.

On 2 September 2020, Conservative leader Erin O'Toole announced that Martel would serve as the party's Quebec lieutenant, succeeding Alain Rayes. Martel served in the role until 8 November 2021, when he was succeeded by Rayes.

On 7 July 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney advised Governor General Louise Arbour to appoint Martel to the Senate. The by-election to replace him was won by Liberal Daniel Gobeil.

Electoral record