Richard was born in Sainte-Angèle-de-Laval, Quebec and received his early education there and in Nicolet. He attained certification from the Institut national des viandes in 1973 and later operated a food market in Bécancour. He has also been an artist and painter since 1976. Richard was a councillor in Bécancour from 1971 to 1976 and first served as the town's mayor from 1976 to 1985. He was interviewed by The Globe and Mail in 1983 as part of a feature piece on the community's industrial projects; in the course of the interview, he highlighted Bécancour's port on the St. Lawrence River, its efficient road and rail system, and its low-cost electricity. Richard came out as gay in the 1970s. His sexual identity became an issue when he ran for provincial office in 1985 but did not hurt his standing with the electorate. In a 2011 interview, he said, "Les gens ne sont pas réticents à élire des homosexuels. L’homophobie existe bien sûr dans certains milieux, mais nous sommes reconnus comme une société progressiste."
Provincial politician
Richard was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec for Nicolet in the 1985 provincial election, defeating Parti Québécoiscabinet ministerYves Beaumier by a significant margin. The Liberals won a majority government in this election, and Richard entered the legislature as a backbench supporter of Robert Bourassa's administration. In 1988, he chaired a task force that examined Quebec's Sunday shopping laws; its report recommended that large food stores remain closed on Sundays, but that weekday hours be extended from 62 to 71 hours per week to allow stores to stay open later. Richard also chaired the provincial agriculture, fisheries and food committee from 1987 to 1994. He was re-elected without difficulty in the 1989 election but narrowly lost to Parti Québécois challenger Michel Morin in the 1994 election as the Liberals were defeated provincially. After his defeat, Richard chaired an internal Liberal Party committee working on policy strategies for the "Non" side in the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty.
Return to municipal politics
Richard began his second tenure as mayor of Bécancour in 1995 and was re-elected in 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2009. He has devoted significant attention to industrial issues; in 2004, he convened a meeting between local business and labour leaders in a bid to resolve a strike at an Alcoaaluminum plant. Richard took part in the ground-breaking ceremony for a solar silicon metal facility in 2007. He supported Hydro-Québec's 2008 decision to refurbish Bécancour's CanduGentilly 2 nuclear generating station, saying that his region depends on jobs produced by the plant. In the aftermath of the 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents, he argued that there was no chance of a similar accident happening in his community. Richard said that Candu's cooling system is much different from that used at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and that the ground under Bécancour is very solid, adding "If people are worried about earthquakes, I strongly suggest they come and live in Bécancour."
