He's been called the "King of Canadian news junkies" and Canada's answer to Matt Drudge ( the U.S. proprietor of the Drudge Report - a sensational website that focuses on political news and the business of Hollywood.
A one-time Ottawa alderman, who in the early 90s was convinced by Jean Chrétien to run for the Quebec Liberals, only to lose to the Bloc, Pierre Bourque then became interested in the growing power of the web as an information source. A pioneer in the field of internet journalism, Pierre Bourque's Newswatch website features important news and gossip about Canadian and global political issues.
He's a painter, who, working primarily in oils, recently had a show in Lafayette Louisiana. His whimsical land & seascapes are of a painterly style influenced by Paul Klee and the Group of Seven and are hung in galleries and private collections. He's an accomplished screenwriter, an author who has had four books published and is currently working on a racing-themed screenplay entitled "Full Throttle".
He developed and markets his own "Bourque Newswatch Coffee" said to be a "delightful blend, including Sumatran, Santo Domingo and Guatemalan" beans.
Pierre Bourque is also Canada's only full-time Nascar driver.
It's an over-used phrase anyway, but "renaissance man" hardly seems adequate to describe Pierre Bourque. So how did his involvement in such disparate yet equally passionate pursuits come about? His parents inadvertently fostered his love for racing as a youth with a trip to Monaco where by chance they took in a race. He later attended Jim Russell's racing school at Mt. Tremblant in 1978, after which followed a dozen years of piloting open-wheeled Formula Ford, Formula 2000, Formula Atlantic, and then Formula 3000 in Austria and Britain.
In 1990, Bourque decided to hang up his helmet and pursue his political and website interests, creating Bourque's Newswatch in 1998. And that might have been that for Bourque's racing career. "Nothing is as exciting as that (racing cars). Some things whisper the same sweet melodies, though, and breaking news is one of them" he says.
As luck may have it, Bourque joined the Board of Directors of the Hall of Fame, sparking his racing bug once again. He dabbled in ice racing in his home town of Ottawa, some Formula Ford and participated in the Honda Michelin Series. His involvement with the Hall of Fame, producing press releases, put him in touch with Nascar, who were making nascent forays into Canadian territory. There was a huge Nascar fan base in Canada, and they approached him, looking for Canadian involvement. Assuming they meant in a communications liason capacity, Bourque readily agreed.
But Nascar wanted him as a driver.
A one-time Ottawa alderman, who in the early 90s was convinced by Jean Chrétien to run for the Quebec Liberals, only to lose to the Bloc, Pierre Bourque then became interested in the growing power of the web as an information source. A pioneer in the field of internet journalism, Pierre Bourque's Newswatch website features important news and gossip about Canadian and global political issues.
He's a painter, who, working primarily in oils, recently had a show in Lafayette Louisiana. His whimsical land & seascapes are of a painterly style influenced by Paul Klee and the Group of Seven and are hung in galleries and private collections. He's an accomplished screenwriter, an author who has had four books published and is currently working on a racing-themed screenplay entitled "Full Throttle".
He developed and markets his own "Bourque Newswatch Coffee" said to be a "delightful blend, including Sumatran, Santo Domingo and Guatemalan" beans.
Pierre Bourque is also Canada's only full-time Nascar driver.
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It's an over-used phrase anyway, but "renaissance man" hardly seems adequate to describe Pierre Bourque. So how did his involvement in such disparate yet equally passionate pursuits come about? His parents inadvertently fostered his love for racing as a youth with a trip to Monaco where by chance they took in a race. He later attended Jim Russell's racing school at Mt. Tremblant in 1978, after which followed a dozen years of piloting open-wheeled Formula Ford, Formula 2000, Formula Atlantic, and then Formula 3000 in Austria and Britain.
In 1990, Bourque decided to hang up his helmet and pursue his political and website interests, creating Bourque's Newswatch in 1998. And that might have been that for Bourque's racing career. "Nothing is as exciting as that (racing cars). Some things whisper the same sweet melodies, though, and breaking news is one of them" he says.
As luck may have it, Bourque joined the Board of Directors of the Hall of Fame, sparking his racing bug once again. He dabbled in ice racing in his home town of Ottawa, some Formula Ford and participated in the Honda Michelin Series. His involvement with the Hall of Fame, producing press releases, put him in touch with Nascar, who were making nascent forays into Canadian territory. There was a huge Nascar fan base in Canada, and they approached him, looking for Canadian involvement. Assuming they meant in a communications liason capacity, Bourque readily agreed.
But Nascar wanted him as a driver.