A nature lover, Daniel Leblanc obtained his civil engineering degree in 1979, with a focus on environmental protection. He continued his training in this field at the master's and doctoral levels.

After working mainly for Bell Canada, the Société d'Énergie de la Baie James and the École Polytechnique, he crossed the ocean to work for the French Ministry of the Environment and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, where he did his doctoral studies in the field of environmental impact assessment of various linear projects.

After having worked for a French multinational, still in environment, he came back to Quebec to share his expertise with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MELCC) of Quebec as a specialist in wastewater treatment for a few years.

He then spent the last 27 years of his career with the department as a manager in the five different regional divisions of Greater Montreal, ending as Regional Director for the Montérégie, agricultural, water, municipal and natural sectors. His teams of agronomists, biologists, engineers, geologists and other specialists have handled tens of thousands of projects. He has been a member of several committees mandated to develop legislation, regulations, policies, guidelines and guides. He has represented the Ministry on various international delegations. He initiated the conservation plans for natural environments in the Montreal and Montérégie regions. He supported several environmental groups in their actions. He has managed various environmental disasters such as lead contamination of drinking water, fires in waste management sites, ice storms, and several major floods.

He is currently completing his 4th term as a Canadian member of various study groups set up by the International Joint Commission to address water management issues in watersheds straddling Canada and the United States.

Recently retired, he decided to continue his involvement in the protection of the environment by participating in the mission of the Fondation Rivières.