He was born in Donnacona, Quebec, the son of Georges Bertrand and Françoise Roy, and was educated at the Université Laval and the Université de Paris X. He was a research assistant at the Université Laval from 1971 to 1973, was employed with the Bureau de la statistique du Québec from 1973 to 1978 and with the Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor from 1980 to 1984, and was director general for the Conseil de la santé et des services sociaux in the Québec region.
