Mauril Bélanger — Ottawa-Vanier

Mauril Bélanger was born and raised in the town of Mattawa, in mid-north Ontario. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Ottawa. Mauril and his wife Catherine are proud grandparents.

Prior to entering politics, Mauril held various positions in the public and private sectors. In the early 1980s, he was an assistant to the late Right Honourable Jean-Luc Pepin; afterwards, he worked as a stockbroker and, in the early 1990s, was Chief of Staff for the Chair of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, Mr. Peter Clark.

First elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Ottawa—Vanier in a by-election in February 1995, Mauril has been re-elected at every election since.

He was appointed to Cabinet by the Right Honourable Paul Martin in December 2003. During this tenure, he was Deputy House Leader and Chief Government Whip. After the 2004 election, he was reappointed to Cabinet where he held numerous responsibilities. In March 2009, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff named him Vice Chair of the National Policy and Platform Committee, an influential position in planning the future of the Liberal Party of Canada.

As an MP, he has been a member, Vice Chair and Chair of several committees. He co-founded and currently co-chairs the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association. While continuing his work on parliamentary committees, Mauril has been sitting for many years on the Board of Internal Economy – the governing body of the House of Commons.

Mauril has always been a strong advocate of Canada’s linguistic duality and national unity.

In 2005, he was decorated as Commandeur de l’Ordre de la Pléiade, an order of La Francophonie that recognises contributions made to international friendship and cooperation. In April 2007, Hungarian President László Sólyom made him an Officer of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in recognition of his work in support of Hungarian-Canadian relations. Recently, in April 2009, the Royal Canadian Legion recognized Mauril’s contribution to the development of goodwill and comradeship.

Make a difference in Ottawa-Vanier

Mauril Bélanger in the news