Claudette Boyer (January 9, 1938 – February 16, 2013) was a politician in
Ontario, Canada. She was elected to the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...
in 1999 as a
Liberal, but was later forced to leave the party as a result of legal difficulties. She retired from politics in 2003.
Background
Boyer was born and raised in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
,
Ontario.
She attended the
University of Ottawa, receiving a
Bachelor of Arts degree and a Teacher's Certificate. She worked as a teacher for thirty years, and was actively involved in the ''Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens'' (Franco-Ontarian teachers association), the
Ontario Teachers' Federation
The Ontario Teachers' Federation (OTF; french: Fédération des enseignantes et des enseignants de l’Ontario, FEO) is the professional body representing over 160,000 teachers in Ontario's publicly funded schools. It operates the Ontario Teacher ...
and the
Canadian Teachers Federation. She and her husband, Jean-Robert Boyer, raised three children, Pierre, Michel and Julie.
Politics
In 1982, Boyer was elected as a school trustee for the Ottawa Board of Education. She represented Vanier separate school supporters. She remained as a trustee until 1986 when new legislation created a French language school board in Ottawa. She decided not to run for the new board. Soon after she joined the board of the ''l'Association Canadienne-Francaise de l'Ontario''.
In 1990 she became the president of the riding association for
Ottawa-Vanier. She stayed as president until 1994 when she resigned to compete for the nomination as federal Liberal candidate when
Jean-Robert Gauthier
Jean-Robert Gauthier, (October 22, 1929 – December 10, 2009) was a Canadian politician.
A chiropractor by training, he entered politics as trustee on a local school board. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada to represent t ...
resigned to accept a senate appointment. She was narrowly beaten by
Mauril Belanger who became the MP in a subsequent by-election. She maintained her ties to the Liberal party as campaign manager for several local politicians including
Jean-Robert Gauthier
Jean-Robert Gauthier, (October 22, 1929 – December 10, 2009) was a Canadian politician.
A chiropractor by training, he entered politics as trustee on a local school board. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada to represent t ...
,
Bernard Grandmaitre
Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname.
The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...
and
Guy Cousineau Guy Cousineau (born June 4, 1937) was the last mayor of the city of Vanier before it was amalgamated with Ottawa in 2001.
He was born in Eastview, which was later renamed Vanier, in 1937, the son of Trefflé Cousineau and Augustine Charette. His ...
.
In the
provincial election of 1999, Boyer was elected to the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...
in the redistributed riding of
Ottawa—Vanier
Ottawa—Vanier (formerly known as Ottawa East) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. Previous to that date, it was part of the Ottawa electoral district ...
, successor to Ottawa East. She easily defeated her
Progressive Conservative opponent by almost 9,000 votes in what is considered a safe Liberal seat. She became the first Franco-Ontarian woman to be elected to
Queen's Park.
She served as the party's critic for Francophone Affairs and Women's Issues.
In December 1999, she was charged with obstruction of justice. In August, her husband was involved in an incident where he accidentally backed his car into Denis Grandmaitre, the son of former area MPP
Bernard Grandmaître
Bernard "Ben" C. Grandmaître , (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 ...
. He suffered a broken leg. An investigation resulted since several versions of the accident were given to police. During the investigation she was asked to step down from her legislative role as critic. It was revealed that Boyer asked three other people to claim they were driving instead of her husband. Her niece agreed to tell this version. In March 2001 Boyer and her husband pleaded guilty to one charge each of obstruction of justice to which they were granted a conditional discharge. As a result of this, premier
Dalton McGuinty suspended her from the Liberal caucus. In September 2001, McGuinty said that she would not be allowed back into caucus and that she would have to serve the remainder of her term as an independent. Boyer was bitter about the rejection. She said, "It was very harsh... I made an error of judgment and as far as I'm concerned, I'm clear. I paid my dues. I cannot accept the way this went."
In 2003, Boyer put her name forward to be re-nominated as the Liberal candidate but McGuinty intervened and used his executive powers to appoint
Madeleine Meilleur
Madeleine Meilleur (born November 22, 1948) is a Canadian nurse, lawyer and former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2016. She represented the riding of Ottawa—Vanier. ...
as the candidate. Boyer was rueful about the situation. She said, "I'm not bitter, I'm not frustrated either. I'm just sad about what is going on." Boyer elected not to run as an independent and retired from politics. Meilleur easily won the
2003 election.
Later life
In 2004, she was awarded the ''Prix anniversaire'' by the ''Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens'' in recognition of her years of service to the community. In 2007 she became the President of the Ottawa chapter of the
Francophone Assembly of Ontario. In August 2011 she was hospitalized due to a stroke.
She died at
Montfort Hospital in Ottawa in 2013 of an
intracranial hemorrhage. She was 75.
Décès de la directrice générale de l'ACFO d'Ottawa Claudette Boyer
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References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyer, Claudette
1938 births
2013 deaths
Franco-Ontarian people
Ontario Liberal Party MPPs
Politicians from Ottawa
University of Ottawa alumni
Women MPPs in Ontario
21st-century Canadian politicians
21st-century Canadian women politicians