Valérie holds a PhD in political science from the University of Ottawa, with a major in Canadian politics, and completed post-doctoral studies in comparative politics at the University of Edinburgh. A specialist in the political debates surrounding diversity within the Canadian federation and in contemporary Westminster-style democracies (Canada, UK), Valérie also has expertise in political parties and electoral dynamics within Canada and its provinces, and a keen interest in federalism. Her award-winning research has been published in national and international scientific journals and has received media coverage across the country.

In addition to her academic career, Valérie has several years of experience in politics for two governments in Quebec, where she held the position of political attaché and then political advisor, respectively in the Office of the Minister of Families (2012-2014) and the Office of the Minister of Justice and Canadian Relations (2018-2020). Among her political accomplishments are the ideation, creation and steering of the non-partisan Comité sur l’accompagnement des victimes d’agressions sexuelles et de violence conjugale, established in response to the #MeToo movement and from which stems the report Rebâtir la confiance (published in December 2020), which contains over 190 recommendations by some twenty experts.

She occasionally collaborates with public broadcaster Radio-Canada to comment on federal political news.