He was a teacher for 33 years, the latter years of which he was a vice-principal and principal.
He was elected to Campbellton city council in 2001 after an unsuccessful bid in 1998.
A Liberal, he was elected to the legislature in 2003 for the district of Campbellton.
He served in the opposition shadow cabinet at various times as critic for Department of Tourism and Parks, the Culture and Sport Secretariat, the anglophone section of the Department of Education and the Department of Family and Community Services.
He was re-elected to the slightly altered district of Campbellton-Restigouche Centre in the 2006 election in which his Liberal Party formed the government.
He was named deputy speaker on October 16, 2006 and elected speaker on November 27, 2007.In the 2010 election, Boudreau was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate Greg Davis.