A member of the legislature for 20 years, Parent was the longest-serving MLA/MNA for the Hull riding.
Parent graduated from Queen's University, where he obtained a degree in commerce.
He later worked as a clerk at the Hull branch of the provincial bank, an auditor and a chartered accountant from 1946 to 1965.
Parent was first elected as a Quebec Liberal Party MLA, defeating the Union Nationale's Alexandre Taché in 1956 .
He was re-elected for five other terms until 1976, when he was defeated by the Parti Québécois candidate, Jocelyne Ouellette.