Bernard "Ben" C. Grandmaitre (born June 24, 1933 in Eastview, Ontario) is a retired politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1984 to 1999, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson.[1]
Grandmaitre was educated as Ottawa schools, and owned a small business in Vanier, Ontario for thirteen years. He was named a life member of the Centre francophone de Vanier, and was active in the Knights of Columbus. Grandmaitre was an alderman on the Vanier city council from 1969 to 1974, and served as its mayor from 1974 to 1984.
He first ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1981 provincial election, but lost to Bob MacQuarrie in the constituency of Carleton East (future NDP cabinet minister Evelyn Gigantes finished third). On December 31, 1984, however, he was easily elected in a by-election to succeed retiring MPP Albert Roy in the riding of Ottawa East. This riding is one of the safest Liberal seats in the province, and Grandmaitre was returned without difficulty in the 1985 provincial election.
The Liberals formed a minority government after this election, and Grandmaitre was appointed as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs. In the latter capacity, he played a major role in passing the province's French Language Services Act in 1986.
The Liberals won a landslide majority in the 1987 election, and Grandmaitre defeated his nearest opponent by almost 15,000 votes. He appointed as Minister of Revenue on September 29, 1987, while retaining responsibility for Francophone Affairs. He was dropped from cabinet on August 2, 1989.
The Liberals were unexpectedly defeated by the NDP in the 1990 election, although Grandmaitre again retained his seat without difficulty. He was re-elected again in the 1995 election, and retired in 1999. He endorsed Dalton McGuinty's bid to lead the Ontario Liberal Party in 1996.[2]
There is Bernard Grandmaitre Arena operated by the City of Ottawa. There is also a French Catholic school in the Riverside South neighbourhood of Ottawa that bears his name.
| 1995 Ontario provincial election : Ottawa East edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | +/- | Expenditures | |
| Liberal | (x)Bernard Grandmaître | 14,436 | 56.94 | $19,825 | ||
| Progressive Conservative | Cynthia Bled | 5,368 | 21.17 | $28,483 | ||
| New Democratic Party | David Dyment | 4,818 | 19.00 | $17,425 | ||
| Green | Larry Tyldsley | 335 | 1.32 | $525 | ||
| Natural Law | Robert Mayer | 261 | 1.03 | $0 | ||
| Ind. (Abolitionist) | Steven E. White | 136 | 0.54 | $0 | ||
| Total valid votes | 25,354 | 100.00 | ||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 331 | |||||
| Turnout | 25,685 | 53.21 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 48,272 | |||||
| Cabinet Posts (1) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Robert Nixon | Minister of Revenue 1987-1989 |
Remo Mancini |