Mauril Bélanger

The Honourable Mauril A. Bélanger
Member of Parliament for Ottawa-Vanier
Incumbent
Assumed office 1995
Preceded by	Jean-Robert Gauthier
Personal details
Born	(1955-06-15) June 15, 1955 Mattawa, Ontario
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Catherine Bélanger
Residence	Ottawa
Profession	Administrator, political adviser
Religion	Roman Catholic

Mauril A. Bélanger, PC, MP (born June 15, 1955) is a Member of the Canadian Parliament. He is a member of the Liberal Party. Bélanger has been involved in advocacy for the rights of Franco-Ontarians.

Bélanger was first elected to Parliament on February 13, 1995 in a by-election. His predecessor, Jean-Robert Gauthier, was appointed to the Senate.

Bélanger represents the riding of Ottawa-Vanier in the eastern part of the city, an electoral district containing diverse economic and social classes. It is home to many ethnic communities and has a large Francophone population. Ottawa-Vanier is considered a solid Liberal riding, having returned a Liberal MP since its creation in 1935, usually in a landslide. Bélanger himself has won by large margins in the 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2008 elections.

As member of Parliament, Bélanger has served as Chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, member of the Standing Committee on the Library of Parliament and member of the Prime Minister's Task Force on Urban Issues. From July 1998 to August 2000, he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. In December 2003, he was appointed Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Chief Government Whip.

Prior to entering politics, Bélanger held various positions in the public and private sectors. He graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1977, where he had served as President of the Student Federation. In the early 1980s, he worked for the Honourable Jean-Luc Pépin, then Minister of Transport. In the mid to late 1980s, he worked as a registered investment advisor. He was the Chief of Staff to the Chair of the Regional Council of Ottawa-Carleton prior to his election to the House of Commons.

Bélanger was born in Mattawa, Ontario, a small logging town in Eastern Ontario.

Electoral record (incomplete)

Canadian federal by-election, February 13, 1995: Ottawa—Vanier
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±pp	Expenditures|-		Liberal	Mauril Bélanger	11,918	60.06	-10.41	$52,001
	Reform	Kevin Gaudet	4,034	20.33	+12.44	$36,995
	Progressive Conservative	Françoise Guenette	1,899	9.57	-0.96	$30,933
	New Democratic Party	Bob Lawson	1,259	6.34	-0.16	$5,764
	Christian Heritage	Gilles Gauthier	299	1.51		$1,751
	Green	Frank de Jong	218	1.10	-0.24	$0
	Natural Law	Ian A.G. Campbell	109	0.55	-0.35	$131
	Marxist-Leninist	Serge Lafortune	61	0.31	+0.02	$136
	Abolitionist	John C. Turmel	46	0.23	+0.17	$0
Total valid votes			19,843	100.00
Total rejected ballots			201
Turnout			20,004	30.39	-32.04
Electors on the lists			65,824

External links

• Official website
• House of Commons Webpage
• How'd They Vote?: Mauril Bélanger's voting history and quotes
• Mauril Bélanger - Parliament of Canada biography

27th Ministry – Cabinet of Paul Martin
Cabinet Posts (3)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
vacant	Minister for Internal Trade 2005–2006	vacant
Albina Guarnieri	Associate Minister of National Defence 2004–2006	vacant
	Minister of State 2003–2004 styled as Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Special Cabinet Responsibilities
Predecessor	Title	Successor
Pierre Pettigrew	Minister responsible for Official Languages (2004–2006)	Josée Verner
Jacques Saada	Minister responsible for Democratic Reform (2004–2005)	Position retitled - see Belinda Stronach
Special Parliamentary Responsibilities
Predecessor	Title	Successor
Paul DeVillers	Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (2003–2006)	vacant