After studying to be a teacher in Montreal, Marcil obtained work at various secondary schools as an administrator.
He was also appointed to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada when Martin decided that parliamentary secretaries should be members of that body.
Marcil ran for re-election in the 2004 general election but was defeated by Alain Boire of the BQ.
He had just arrived in Port-au-Prince on a business trip for his current employer, the Montreal engineering firm Groupe SM International.
On January 23, his wife confirmed that Marcil's body had been found in the rubble of the Hôtel Montana.