He holds a Ph.D. in Geography and a BA in Biochemistry from the Université de Montréal, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Biology at McGill University. He is also very involved with environmental NGOs: in 2012 he founded the Green Belt Movement, a coalition of environmental organizations that advocates for the creation of a green infrastructure in the Montreal region, and he is a member of the scientific circle of the David Suzuki Foundation since 2011. He is also known as a founding member of the musical group the Cowboys Fringants and chairs the foundation of the group dedicated to the protection of the environment.