Stephen Blais
Stephen Blais | |
|---|---|
 Stephen Blais promoting the 2018 OC Transpo Christmas Food Drive | |
| Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Orléans | |
| Assumed office February 27, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Marie-France Lalonde |
| Ottawa City Councillor | |
| Assumed office December 1, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Rob Jellett |
| Constituency | Cumberland Ward |
| Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board Trustee | |
| In office December 1, 2006 – November 30, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Des Curley |
| Succeeded by | Brian Coburn |
| Constituency | Zone 3 (Orléans & Cumberland) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | small July 20, 1980 Ottawa |
| Died | small |
| Resting place | small |
| Political party | Ontario Liberal Party |
| Spouse | Marta Blais |
| Parent |
|
| Website | http://www.stephenblais.com |
Stephen Blais (born July 20, 1980) is the Member of Provincial Parliament for Orléans for the Ontario Liberal Party since winning a by-election on February 27, 2020.
Before being elected to the Ontario legislature, he was Ottawa City Councillor for Cumberland Ward. He won the ward in the 2010 Ottawa municipal election, defeating the incumbent Rob Jellett. In the 2014 Ottawa municipal election, Blais was re-elected with a large majority, defeating Marc Belisle. In the 2018 Ottawa municipal election, Blais was re-elected with over 89% of the vote - the highest majority of the night.
Early life
Blais was born in Ottawa and grew up in the Queenswood Heights neighbourhood of Orléans in the former Cumberland Township. Upon graduating from St. Peter Catholic High School, he attended the University of Ottawa to pursue a Bachelor of Social Sciences.
Following university, he served as Executive Assistant to Jim Watson while Watson served in the Ontario Cabinet. Blais later moved to Carleton University where he worked as a media and communications advisor.
Blais and his wife Marta have one son, Stephen Jr. They live in the Chaperal neighbourhood.[1]
Community involvement
Blais is the past president of the Queenswood Heights Community Association and a former members of the Cumberland Lions Club.
Prior to being elected as a councillor, Blais served as an Ottawa Catholic School Board Trustee for Orléans-Cumberland. He was first elected as a Trustee in 2006 when he defeated the incumbent.
Ottawa City Council
In 2010, Blais was elected the third Ottawa City Councillor for Cumberland Ward defeating the two-term incumbent. He quickly made his mark securing early victories by having the City of Ottawa conduct an environmental assessment to widen HWY 174 and to extend Light Rail Transit to Orléans.
In addition to his focus on reducing commute times through investments in roads and transit, Blais prioritized local park construction. In his first term of office, seven new parks were built in Cumberland Ward and Blais announced a plan to partner with the local homebuilding industry to complete an $8 million expansion of Millennium Park.[2]
Blais was named Chair of the City of Ottawa Transit Commission on December 10, 2014. The Transit Commission is the body charged with oversight of the City's public transit provider OC Transpo.
The Transit Commission is responsible for ensuring the development of a safe, efficient, accessible, and client-focused transit system and for providing overall guidance and direction to the Transit Services Department on all issues relating to the operation of public transit, including the O-Train and Para Transpo. The Transit Commission consists of eight members of Council and four citizen members, as approved by Council. The Transit Commission meets on a monthly basis in a public forum.[3]
Provincial politics
In October 2019, Blais announced that he would be seeking the Liberal nomination for the provincial riding of Orléans, which had been left vacant when Marie-France Lalonde stepped down to run for the federal Liberal Party.[4] He won the nomination on November 9.[5] Blais won the February 27 by-election with 55 per cent of the vote, defeating his nearest rival, Progressive Conservative candidate Natalie Montgomery, by more than 8,000 votes.[6]
Election results 2020
| Ontario provincial by-election, February 27, 2020: Orléans Resignation of Marie-France Lalonde | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Stephen Blais | 14,303 | 55.01 | +15.96 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Natalie Montgomery | 5,945 | 22.87 | -12.33 | ||||
| New Democratic | Manon Parrot | 3,888 | 14.95 | -6.99 | ||||
| Green | Andrew West | 1,527 | 5.87 | +3.37 | ||||
| Libertarian | Jean-Serge Brisson | 177 | 0.68 | +0.06 | ||||
| None of the Above | Keegan Bennett | 100 | 0.38 | |||||
| Pauper | John Turmel | 32 | 0.12 | |||||
| Ontario Alliance | Gerrie Huenemoerder | 28 | 0.11 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 26,000 | |||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | 23.53 | -39.24 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 110,519 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +14.15 | ||||||
Election results 2018
| Ward 19 - Cumberland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Stephen Blais (X) | 11,230 | 89.08% |
| Cameron Rose Jette | 741 | 5.88% |
| Jensen Boire | 636 | 5.04% |
Election results 2014
| Ward 19 - Cumberland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Stephen Blais (X) | 9,446 | 78.03% |
| Marc Belisle | 2,659 | 21.96% |
Election results 2010
| Ward 19 - Cumberland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Stephen Blais | 6,358 | 52.36 |
| Rob Jellett (X) | 5,282 | 43.49% |
| Patrick Paquette | 504 | 4.15 |
Election results 2006
| Zone 3 (Wards 1, 19) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Stephen Blais | 3,124 | 55.30% |
| Des Curley (X) | 2,525 | 44.70% |
References
- ^ https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawa-votes-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-candidates-in-cumberland
- ^ Ottawa Sun - http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/04/16/plans-underway-for-8m-east-end-ottawa-park
- ^ OC Transpo - http://www.octranspo.com/images/files/reports/Facts_Brochure_201.pdf
- ^ Chianello, Joanne (October 10, 2019). "Blais running for Liberal nomination in Orléans". CBC News. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
- ^ Duffy, Andrew (November 9, 2019). "Orléans Liberals nominate Coun. Stephen Blais for provincial byelection". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ^ "Stephen Blais keeps Orléans Liberal red". CBC News. Ottawa. February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.