Ben Grandmaître
Ontario MPP
In office
1984–1999
Preceded byAlbert Roy
Succeeded byJim Brownell
ConstituencyOttawa East
Personal details
Born (1933-06-24) June 24, 1933
Eastview, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLiberal

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 1980 and from 1982 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] His term in cabinet ended on August 2, 1989.[7]

Cabinet positions

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

1995 Ontario general election: Ottawa East
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalBernard Grandmaître14,43656.94−5.47$ 19,824.52
Progressive ConservativeCynthia Bled5,36821.17+12.7728,483.15
New DemocraticDavid Dyment4,81819.00−4.2717,425.03
GreenLarry Tyldsley3351.32−1.44524.72
Natural LawRobert Mayer2611.03 0.00
IndependentSteven White1360.54 0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit 25,354 98.71   $ 45,818.00
Total rejected ballots 331 1.29 +0.07
Turnout 25,685 53.21-2.02
Eligible voters 48,272
Liberal hold Swing -9.12
Source(s)
"General Election of June 8 1995 – Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Retrieved May 31, 2014.
"General Election of June 8 1995 – Statistical Summary". Elections Ontario.
"1995 Details of Candidate Income and Expenses" (3.16MB). & "1995 Summary of Income and Campaign Expenses" ( Word'95 .doc files (146KB)).
1990 Ontario general election: Ottawa East
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBernard Grandmaître16,36362.41−11.85
New DemocraticLori Lucier6,10323.28+7.07
Progressive ConservativeDiana Morin2,2038.40−1.13
Family CoalitionRichard Hudon8263.15 
GreenFrank de Jong7232.76 
Total valid votes 26,218 98.78
Total rejected ballots 3241.22
Turnout 26,54255.23
Eligible voters 48,055
Liberal hold Swing -9.46
1987 Ontario general election: Ottawa East
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBernard Grandmaître18,95974.26+5.86
New DemocraticAlex Connelly4,13716.20−2.40
Progressive ConservativeCorinne Price2,4359.54−1.03
Total valid votes 25,531100.0   +19.60
1985 Ontario general election: Ottawa East
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBernard Grandmaître14,60168.40+0.03
New DemocraticKathryn Barnard3,97118.60+5.1
Progressive ConservativePaul St. Georges2,25710.57−6.48
IndependentSerge Girard5182.43+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 Grandmaître7,75468.37−0.85
Progressive ConservativeRichard Boudreau1,93417.05−3.58
New DemocraticJean Gilbert1,53113.50+4.22
IndependentSerge Girard1221.08+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. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. 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.
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