Christian Paradis is a Conservative Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for Mégantic—L'Érable. He was first elected in 2006 and served as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources until January 2007, when he was appointed Secretary of State for Agriculture and Agri-food Canada and the Rural Secretariat. In June 2008, Paradis was appointed Minister of Public Works and Government Services, retaining his position as Secretary of State for Agriculture until October that same year. In October 2008, in a cabinet shuffle following the election, he would retain the Public Works portfolio. In addition, he succeeded Lawrence Cannon as Quebec Lieutenant and now sits directly beside Harper in the house of commons. In January 2010, in a cabinet shuffle, Prime Minister Harper appointed him Minister of Natural Resources and in May 2011, the Minister of Industry. Finally, in July 2013 he was appointed as Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie.