Maxime Bernier was born January 18, 1963, in St-Georges-de-Beauce. He is the father of two girls.

Mr. Bernier is a dedicated and experienced runner and has participated in several marathons. A tough and determined competitor, he once ran 106 km across his constituency, completing the run in 13 hours and raising $165,000 for the Beauce food bank.

In 1985, Mr. Bernier earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal and entered Law at the University of Ottawa. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1990.

Mr. Bernier has a long-standing interest in business and during his career worked for several financial and banking institutions before becoming Executive Vice-President of the Montreal Economic Institute in 2005.

Many people in the region encouraged him to enter politics. He took up the challenge and was elected Member of Parliament for Beauce on January 23, 2006,