Bernard "Ben" C. GrandmaîtreCM, (born June 24, 1933) is a former politician fromOntario, Canada. He was aLiberal member of theLegislative Assembly of Ontario from 1984 to 1999 who represented the riding ofOttawa East. He served as acabinet minister in the government ofDavid Peterson.

Grandmaître was born in Eastview,Ontario, and educated atOttawa schools. He owned a small business inVanier, Ontario for thirteen years. He was named a life member of theCentre francophone de Vanier, and was active in theKnights of Columbus.

Grandmaître was analderman on the Vanier city council from 1969 to 1974, and served as itsmayor from 1974 to 1980 and from 1982 to 1984.^[1]

He ran for the Ontario legislature in the1981 provincial election, but lost toBob MacQuarrie in the riding ofCarleton East (futureNDP cabinet ministerEvelyn Gigantes finished third).^[2]

On December 13, 1984, he was elected in aby-election to succeed retiring MPPAlbert Roy in the riding ofOttawa East.^[1] This riding is one of the safest Liberal seats in the province, and Grandmaitre was returned without difficulty in the1985 provincial election.^[3]

The Liberals formed aminority government after this election, and Grandmaître was appointed asMinister of Municipal Affairs andMinister responsible for Francophone Affairs.^[4] In the latter capacity, he played a major role in passing the province'sFrench Language Services Act in 1986.

The Liberals won a landslide majority in the1987 election, and Grandmaître defeated his nearest opponent by almost 15,000 votes.^[5] He appointed asMinister of Revenue on September 29, 1987, while retaining responsibility for Francophone Affairs.^[6] His term in cabinet ended on August 2, 1989.^[7]

The Liberals were defeated by the NDP in the1990 election, although Grandmaître again retained his seat without difficulty.^[8] He was re-elected again in the1995 election,^[9] and retired in 1999. He endorsedDalton McGuinty's bid to lead the Ontario Liberal Party in 1996.^[10]

v t e 1995 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			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
	Liberalhold		Swing		-9.12
Source(s) "General Election of June 8 1995 – Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". RetrievedMay 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)).

In 2013 he was made a member of theOrder 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.

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history

• 1933 births
• Franco-Ontarian people
• Mayors of Eastview and Vanier
• Members of the Executive Council of Ontario
• Members of the Order of Canada
• Living people
• Ontario Liberal Party MPPs
• People from the United Counties of Prescott and Russell
• 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• 20th-century mayors of places in Ontario

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