# François Gourd

François "Yo" Gourd is a Canadian political figure and entertainer, who has been involved in the Rhinoceros Party of Canada and the entartistes, two satirical political movements. He has run as the Rhinoceros Party candidate in several federal elections.
In 1983 Gourd opened a bar called Les Foufounes Électriques, along with Norman Boileau and Bernard Paquet — two of Gourd's friends from a musical theatre of which he was a member. They were interested in creating a space for showcasing burgeoning alternative musicians and different types of art. According to Gourd, the bar did not turn much of a profit and he sold his share in the club after five years. By the end of the 1980s, Boileau was the only remaining owner.
In the period that followed, he became involved in cinema. His films included Masturbation libre, le manifeste in 2007.
In 2006, he founded the second iteration of the Rhinoceros Party, the successor to the historical Rhinoceros Party dissolved in 1993. As the party's candidate in the September 17, 2007 federal by-election in Outremont, he listed his profession as poet on his nomination papers. He received 145 votes (0.61%). The party's activities included protesting against the construction industry.

## Electoral record

vte1979 Canadian federal election: Saint-Michel :
| Candidate | Votes |
| Liberal | Marie Thérèse Killens | 29,046 |
| Social Credit | John Mitchell | 4,299 |
| New Democratic | Filippo Salvatore | 2,616 |
| Progressive Conservative | Jean-Louis Pozza | 2,602 |
| Rhinoceros | François Gourd | 1,453 |
| Union populaire | Bernard L. Longpré | 432 |
| Communist | Vittoria Bronzati | 177 |
| Marxist–Leninist | Serge Tremblay | 147 |
Canadian federal by-election, 17 September 2007 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| resignation of Jean Lapierre, 28 January 2007 |||||||
| | New Democratic | Thomas Mulcair | 11,374 | 47.51 | +30.38 |
| | Liberal | Jocelyn Coulon | 6,933 | 28.96 | -6.17 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Jean-Paul Gilson | 2,610 | 10.90 | -17.91 |
| | Conservative | Gilles Duguay | 2,052 | 8.57 | -4.27 |
| | Green | François Pilon | 529 | 2.20 | -2.59 |
| | Rhinoceros | François Yo Gourd | 145 | 0.61 | – |
| | Independent | Mahmood Raza Baig | 78 | 0.33 | – |
| | Independent | Jocelyne Leduc | 67 | 0.28 | – |
| | Canadian Action | Alexandre Amirizian | 45 | 0.19 | – |
| | Independent | Romain Angeles | 43 | 0.18 | – |
| | Independent | Régent Millette | 32 | 0.13 | +0.07 |
| | Independent | John Turmel | 30 | 0.13 | – |
2008 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Bloc Québécois | Gilles Duceppe | 24,103 | 50.24 | −4.45 | $71,127 |
| | Liberal | Sébastien Caron | 8,798 | 18.33 | +5.88 | $30,225 |
| | New Democratic | François Grégoire | 8,209 | 17.11 | +0.44 | $31,151 |
| | Green | Dylan Perceval-Maxwell | 3,801 | 7.92 | -0.38 | $7,171 |
| | Conservative | Charles K. Langford | 2,320 | 4.83 | −1.55 | $5,590 |
| | Rhinoceros | François Yo Gourd | 447 | 0.93 | | $388 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Serge Lachapelle | 118 | 0.24 | -0.03 | |
| | Independent | Daniel "F4J" Laforest | 93 | 0.19 | – | |
| | Communist | Samie Pagé-Quirion | 86 | 0.17 | -0.03 | $898 |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 47,975 | 100.00 | $84,641 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 406 | 0.84 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,381 | 61.10 |
2011 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Hélène Laverdière | 23,373 | 46.64 | +29.53 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Gilles Duceppe | 17,991 | 35.90 | -14.34 |
| | Liberal | Philippe Allard | 4,976 | 9.93 | -8.40 |
| | Conservative | Charles K. Langford | 1,764 | 3.52 | -1.31 |
| | Green | Adam Olivier | 1,324 | 2.64 | -5.28 |
| | Rhinoceros | François Yo Gourd | 398 | 0.79 | -0.14 |
| | Communist | Sylvain Archambault | 137 | 0.27 | +0.10 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Serge Lachapelle | 77 | 0.15 | -0.09 |
| | Independent | Dimitri Mourkes | 73 | 0.15 | – |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 50,113 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 471 | 0.93 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,584 | 64.21 |