Lessard obtained a licence in law at the Université de Sherbrooke.
He would also be a member of the executive committee of the L'Amiante Regional County Municipality, Quebec.
When Yvon Vallières took time off for health reasons in 2006, he would temporarily had the portfolios of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for a few weeks before obtaining them after the 2007 elections when Vaillières was no longer part of the cabinet.
Lessard kept the same Cabinet positions following the Liberal majority gained in the 2008 elections.
On June 23, 2009, following a Cabinet shuffle, Lessard replaced Nathalie Normandeau as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Regions and Land Occupancy while Claude Béchard became the new Minister of Agriculture.