Bernard Grandmaître

Ben Grandmaître
Ontario MPP
In office
1984–1999
Preceded by Albert Roy
Succeeded by Jim Brownell
Constituency Ottawa East
Personal details
Born (1933-06-24) June 24, 1933
Eastview, Ontario, Canada
Political party Liberal

Bernard "Ben" C. Grandmaître CM, (born June 24, 1933) is a former politician from Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1984 to 1999 who represented the riding of Ottawa East. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson.

Background

Grandmaître was born in Eastview, Ontario, and educated at Ottawa schools. He 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.

Politics

Grandmaître was an alderman on the Vanier city council from 1969 to 1974, and served as its mayor from 1974 to 1984.[1]

He ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1981 provincial election, but lost to Bob MacQuarrie in the riding of Carleton East (future NDP cabinet minister Evelyn Gigantes finished third).[2]

In government

On December 13, 1984, he was elected in a by-election to succeed retiring MPP Albert Roy in the riding of Ottawa East.[1] This riding is one of the safest Liberal seats in the province, and Grandmaitre was returned without difficulty in the 1985 provincial election.[3]

The Liberals formed a minority government after this election, and Grandmaître was appointed as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs.[4] 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 Grandmaître defeated his nearest opponent by almost 15,000 votes.[5] He appointed as Minister of Revenue on September 29, 1987, while retaining responsibility for Francophone Affairs.[6] He was dropped from cabinet on August 2, 1989.[7]

Cabinet positions

Provincial Government of David Peterson
Cabinet posts (2)
Predecessor Office Successor
Robert Nixon Minister of Revenue
1987–1989
Also Responsible for Francophone Affairs		 Remo Mancini
Dennis Timbrell Minister of Municipal Affairs
1985–1987
Also Responsible for Francophone Affairs		 John Eakins

In opposition

The Liberals were defeated by the NDP in the 1990 election, although Grandmaître again retained his seat without difficulty.[8] He was re-elected again in the 1995 election,[9] and retired in 1999. He endorsed Dalton McGuinty's bid to lead the Ontario Liberal Party in 1996.[10]

Electoral record

Ontario general election, 1995: Ottawa East
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalBernard Grandmaître 14,436 56.94 −5.47 $ 19,824.52
Progressive ConservativeCynthia Bled 5,368 21.17 +12.77 28,483.15
New DemocraticDavid Dyment 4,818 19.00 −4.28 17,425.03
GreenLarry Tyldsley 335 1.32 −1.44 524.72
Natural LawRobert Mayer 261 1.03   0.00
IndependentSteven White 136 0.54   0.00
Total valid votes/Expense limit 25,354 100.0   −3.30 $ 45,818.00
Total rejected ballots 331 1.29
Turnout 25,685 53.21
Eligible voters 48,272
Ontario general election, 1990: Ottawa East
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalBernard Grandmaître 16,363 62.41 −11.85
New DemocraticLori Lucier 6,103 23.28 +7.08
Progressive ConservativeDiana Morin 2,203 8.40 −1.14
Family CoalitionRichard Hudon 826 3.15  
GreenFrank de Jong 723 2.76  
Total valid votes 26,218100.0   +2.69
Ontario general election, 1987: Ottawa East
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalBernard Grandmaître 18,959 74.26 +5.86
New DemocraticAlex Connelly 4,137 16.20 −2.40
Progressive ConservativeCorinne Price 2,435 9.54 −1.03
Total valid votes 25,531100.0   +19.60
Ontario general election, 1985: Ottawa East
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalBernard Grandmaître 14,601 68.40 +0.03
New DemocraticKathryn Barnard 3,971 18.60 +5.1
Progressive ConservativePaul St. Georges 2,257 10.57 −6.48
IndependentSerge Girard 518 2.43 +1.35
Total valid votes 21,347100.0   +88.23
Ontario provincial by-election, December 13, 1984: Ottawa East
Resignation of Albert J. Roy
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalBernard Grandmaître 7,754 68.37 −0.85
Progressive ConservativeRichard Boudreau 1,934 17.05 −3.58
New DemocraticJean Gilbert 1,531 13.50 +4.22
IndependentSerge Girard 122 1.08 +0.21
Total valid votes 11,341100.0   −44.74

Honours and awards

In 2013 he was made a member of the Order of Canada. His citation reads, "for fostering the vitality and growth of Ontario's francophone community."[11] There is an arena named after him in Ottawa and a French Catholic school in the Riverside South neighbourhood of Ottawa that bears his name.

References

  1. 1 2 Stephens, Robert; Cruickshank, John (December 14, 1984). "Liberals lose ground in Ontario by-elections". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
  2. ↑ Canadian Press (1981-03-20). "Election results for Metro Toronto ridings". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
  3. ↑ "Results of vote in Ontario election". The Globe and Mail. May 3, 1985. p. 13.
  4. ↑ "Liberals pledge reform as they take over in Ontario". The Gazette. Montreal, Que. June 27, 1985. p. B1.
  5. ↑ "Results from individual ridings". The Windsor Star. September 11, 1987. p. F2.
  6. ↑ "Wrye gets new cabinet job". The Windsor Star. September 29, 1987. p. A1.
  7. ↑ Allen, Gene (August 3, 1989). "Veterans bear load as 8 ministers cut in Peterson shuffle". The Globe and Mail. p. A1.
  8. ↑ "Ontario election: Riding-by-riding voting results". The Globe and Mail. September 7, 1990. p. A12.
  9. ↑ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 8, 1995. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  10. ↑ "Canada NewsWire". August 19, 1996.
  11. ↑ Hudes, Sammy (December 31, 2013). "7 Ottawans join Order of Canada; Three Officers named all medical researchers". The Ottawa Citizen. p. C4.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.