# Bernard Grandmaître

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.
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).

### 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. 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 Grandmaître 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 Grandmaître 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. His term in cabinet ended on August 2, 1989.

### Cabinet positions

Ontario 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. 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.

### Electoral record

vte1995 Ontario general election: Ottawa East :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Bernard Grandmaître | 14,436 | 56.94 | −5.47 | $ 19,824.52 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Cynthia Bled | 5,368 | 21.17 | +12.77 | 28,483.15 |
| | New Democratic | David Dyment | 4,818 | 19.00 | −4.27 | 17,425.03 |
| | Green | Larry Tyldsley | 335 | 1.32 | −1.44 | 524.72 |
| | Natural Law | Robert Mayer | 261 | 1.03 | | 0.00 |
| | Independent | Steven White | 136 | 0.54 | | 0.00 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 25,354 | 98.71 | | $ 45,818.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 331 | 1.29 | +0.07 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,685 | 53.21 | -2.02 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 48,272 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | 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)). |||||||
vte1990 Ontario general election: Ottawa East :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Bernard Grandmaître | 16,363 | 62.41 | −11.85 |
| | New Democratic | Lori Lucier | 6,103 | 23.28 | +7.07 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Diana Morin | 2,203 | 8.40 | −1.13 |
| | Family Coalition | Richard Hudon | 826 | 3.15 | |
| | Green | Frank de Jong | 723 | 2.76 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 26,218 | 98.78 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 324 | 1.22 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,542 | 55.23 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 48,055 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | -9.46 |
vte1987 Ontario general election: Ottawa East :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Bernard Grandmaître | 18,959 | 74.26 | +5.86 |
| | New Democratic | Alex Connelly | 4,137 | 16.20 | −2.40 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Corinne Price | 2,435 | 9.54 | −1.03 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 25,531 | 100.0 | +19.60 |
vte1985 Ontario general election: Ottawa East :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Bernard Grandmaître | 14,601 | 68.40 | +0.03 |
| | New Democratic | Kathryn Barnard | 3,971 | 18.60 | +5.1 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Paul St. Georges | 2,257 | 10.57 | −6.48 |
| | Independent | Serge Girard | 518 | 2.43 | +1.35 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 21,347 | 100.0 | +88.23 |
vteOntario provincial by-election, December 13, 1984: Ottawa East Resignation of Albert J. Roy :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Bernard Grandmaître | 7,754 | 68.37 | −0.85 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Richard Boudreau | 1,934 | 17.05 | −3.58 |
| | New Democratic | Jean Gilbert | 1,531 | 13.50 | +4.22 |
| | Independent | Serge Girard | 122 | 1.08 | +0.21 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 11,341 | 100.0 | −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." 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.