The Honourable Denis Paradis, born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu on April 1, 1949, is a lawyer and federal politician from Quebec. He served as president of the Quebec lawyer’s association in 1983, as first councillor of the Bedford section of the Quebec Bar in 1991–1992, and president of the Quebec Bar in 1993–1994. He co-wrote Règles de procédure devant les tribunaux administratifs, published in 1985.
Denis Paradis was elected as a Liberal member of Parliament in the federal riding of Brome–Missisquoi in the 1995 by-election. He was re-elected from 1997 to 2006, lost in 2006 and 2008 and was then re-elected in 2015. He did not seek re-election in 2019.
During his time in the House of Commons, he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Cooperation in 1999, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister responsible for the Francophonie in 1999, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1999–2001. He also was Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa and Secretary of State for the Francophonie in 2002–2003, and Minister of State for Financial Institutions in 2003–2004. In 2005 Mr. Paradis was named Commander of the Ordre de la Pléiade, Ordre de la francophonie et du dialogue des cultures.
He is a member of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians, and now sits on the association’s board of directors. He is senior counsel at Dunton Rainville, a firm in Quebec. He was awarded the title of Advocatus Emeritus (Ad. E.) by the Quebec Bar in 2009. He is still a member of the King’s Privy Council for Canada. He is the brother of Liberal MNA Pierre Paradis. He owns the Domaine du Ridge vineyard in the Saint-Armand region. Mr. Paradis also wrote Anecdotes, published in 2021, recounting his experience as a politician and winemaker.