Madeleine Meilleur

Hon. Madeleine Meilleur
MPP for Ottawa—Vanier
Incumbent
Assumed office October 2, 2003
Preceded by	Claudette Boyer
Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
Incumbent
Assumed office October, 2011
Preceded by	Jim Bradley
Minister of Community and Social Services
In office April 5, 2006 – October, 2011
Preceded by	Sandra Pupatello
Succeeded by	John Milloy
Ottawa City councillor from Rideau-Vanier Ward
In office 2000–2003
Preceded by	Stéphane Émard-Chabot
Succeeded by	Georges Bédard
Personal details
Born	November 22, 1948 (1948-11-22) Kiamika, Quebec
Political party	Liberal
Residence	Ottawa, Ontario
Occupation	Registered Nurse, Lawyer
Cabinet	Minister of Culture (2003-2006) Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs (2003-)

Madeleine Meilleur (born November 22, 1948) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and is a cabinet minister in the government of Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Background

Meilleur was born in the small Quebec community of Kiamika. She is both a registered nurse and a lawyer, specializing in labour and employment law. She has served on the Ottawa-Carleton Regional District Health Council, the Champlain District Health Council, the Ottawa-Carleton Children's Aid Society and the Vanier Housing Corporation. She has also played an active role in promoting tourism to the city.

Politics

Municipal council

Meilleur was elected to the city of Vanier's municipal council in 1991, and also served as a council member in the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (which included members from Vanier and other local municipalities). In 2000, she became a city councillor in the newly amalgamated city of Ottawa. During her time in municipal government, Meilleur represented the council on the French-Language Services Advisory Committee. She received the United Way's Community Builder's Award in 2001 and le prix d'Excellence from the Réseau socioactif des femmes francophones in 2002. In July 2001, she was named Ottawa's deputy mayor.

Provincial politics

In 2003, Meilleur was appointed as the Liberal Party candidate in the provincial riding of Ottawa—Vanier. Ottawa-Vanier has a large francophone population and is known as a safe seat for the Liberal Party. Meilleur was elected without difficulty.

The Liberal party won the election, and Meilleur was appointed Ontario Minister of Culture with responsibility for Francophone Affairs on October 23, 2003. In November 2003, Meilleur announced that provincial grants would be made available to libraries in rural communities. In April 2004, she announced the extension of demolition controls on heritage buildings. She is also known to favour the extension of official bilingualism in Ottawa] and Ontario]. In the same year, she also became the province's first cabinet minister ever to attend an international summit of La Francophonie.

On April 5, 2006, Meilleur was promoted to Minister of Community and Social Services. She was easily reelected to her Ottawa—Vanier riding in the October 10, 2007 general provincial election.

Electoral record

Ontario general election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Madeleine Meilleur	19,615	51.4	-
	Progressive Conservative	Fred Sherman	8,931	23.4	-
	New Democrat	Paul Étienne Laliberté-Tipple	7,525	19.7	-
	Green	Dave Bagler	1,719	4.5	-
	Family Coalition	Emmanuel Houle	352	0.9	-
Total valid votes			38,142	100.0

Ontario general election, 2007
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Madeleine Meilleur	20,951	50.8	-1.7
	Progressive Conservative	Bruce Poulin	9,169	22.2	-4.0
	New Democrat	Ric Dagenais	6,144	14.9	-0.8
	Green	Leonard Poole	4,287	10.4	+5.9
	Family Coalition	Frank Cioppa	400	1.0	-
	Independent	Robert Larter	256	0.6	-
Total valid votes			38,142	100.0

Ontario general election, 2003
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Madeleine Meilleur	22,188	53.5	+0.5
	Progressive Conservative	Maurice Lamirande	10,878	26.2	-5.6
	New Democrat	Joseph Zebrowski	6,507	15.7	+5.2
	Green	Raphael Thierrin	1,876	4.5	+2.1
Total valid votes			41,449	100.0

Table of offices held

Provincial Government of Dalton McGuinty
Cabinet Posts (3)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Sandra Pupatello	Minister of Community and Social Services 2006-Present	Incumbent
John Baird	Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs 2003-Present	Incumbent
David Tsubouchi	Minister of Culture 2003—2006	Caroline Di Cocco

External links

• Madeleine Meilleur's official MPP Site
• Madeleine Meilleur's Ontario Liberal Party biography
• Ontario Legislative Assembly Parliamentarian History