Of Métis heritage, Bourque has initiated several charitable causes dedicated to encouraging aboriginal children and helping youth from rural Northern Alberta afford the cost of playing hockey.

[3] His father, Gary, works in the Canadian oil patch near Fort McMurray, while his mother, Barbara, is a social worker in Lac La Biche.

[8] Bourque felt that his education was paramount, and it wasn't until he had earned a full scholarship to play at the University of Wisconsin–Madison that he believed he could make a career in hockey.

[11] He again led the Badgers in scoring with 16 goals and 34 points in 2003–04 as Wisconsin reached the regional final of the 2004 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

He scored a franchise record 33 goals for the Admirals, also leading the team with 60 points,[10] and was named the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award winner as the AHL's rookie of the year.

[10] Bourque joined the Blackhawks to start the 2005–06 season, and scored his first NHL goal against goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère in his first game, a 5–3 loss to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

[17] He was rushed to hospital during a November 12, 2006, game against the Columbus Blue Jackets after suffering a deep cut to the neck from Nikolai Zherdev's skate during a scrum in the crease.

[20] Bourque considered himself fortunate that the injury was not worse, stating upon his return to action four weeks later that he might not have survived if the cut was a couple of millimetres deeper.

He missed time early in the season with a groin pull,[24] then was knocked out of the line-up for a month after breaking his thumb in a November game against the Detroit Red Wings.

Signing him to a six-year contract extension worth $3.3 million per season in February 2010,[34] the Flames looked to Bourque to be a top player for the organization.

Though prone to inconsistent play, he was considered one of the Flames' top offensive threats, and a player looked at as potentially succeeding captain Jarome Iginla as the team's scoring leader.

Borque received a two-game ban on December 19, 2011, for a check from behind against Chicago's Brent Seabrook,[39] and then earned a five-game suspension on January 4, 2012, for an elbow to the head of Washington's Nicklas Bäckström.

[47] At the conclusion of his long-term contract after the 2015–16 season with the Blue Jackets, Bourque went through the off-season as a free agent before agreeing to a professional try-out offer to join the Colorado Avalanche training camp on August 25, 2016.

[48] After a successful training camp and pre-season Bourque solidified his position on the roster and extended his NHL career in signing a one-year, one-way deal for the 2016–17 season on October 10, 2016.

Bourque later cooled off offensively with the decline of the Avalanche over the course of the season, he still however, finished with a respectable rebound year in compiling 12 goals and 18 points in 65 games.

[50] At 35 years old, Bourque finished his NHL career after recording 163 goals and 153 assists in 725 games with the Blackhawks, Flames, Canadiens, Ducks, Blue Jackets and Avalanche.

[51] In the 2017–18 season, Bourque found early success on Djurgården scoring line recording 13 goals and 22 points in 35 games.

He says this lifestyle was tough growing up, which is why he started the Bourque Buddies charity to help Metis children have something to look forward to and work towards.

[57] Also in 2010–11, he started a program called "Bourque's Buddies" that rewards kids from the Tsuu T'ina Nation who have made positive contributions in their schools with tickets to Flames games.