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Biographical Notes – Madeleine Meilleur

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Madeleine Meilleur is a well-known advocate of Ontario’s French language minority community, including through her accomplishments in elected office and her work in support of vibrant, Francophone community institutions.

After working as a registered nurse at the Montfort Hospital in Ottawa, Ms. Meilleur earned a law degree at the University of Ottawa and practiced in the field of labour law.

As a member of municipal councils between 1991 and 2003, she worked with her fellow councillors to create a bilingual policy for the City of Ottawa. This commitment to include Ottawa’s Francophone community stemmed from her extensive involvement in the successful community-driven effort between 1997 and 2001 to prevent the closure of the Montfort Hospital – the only French language teaching hospital west of Quebec.

In 2003, Ms. Meilleur was elected to the Ontario Legislative Assembly and became the Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, a position she held throughout her 13 years in the legislature. In that capacity, she oversaw investments in education and health targeted at strengthening Francophone communities across the province. Her leadership played an integral part in a number of initiatives, including the creation of the position of Commissioner for French Language Services and the 2015 commemoration of the 400th anniversary of French presence in Ontario.

While responsible for Francophone Affairs, Ms. Meilleur also held other Cabinet positions, including Minister of Culture, Minister of Community and Social Services, and Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Among her achievements were legislative and policy innovations that promoted social inclusion and accessibility for some of society’s most vulnerable populations.

Under Ms. Meilleur’s leadership as Attorney General of Ontario from 2014 to 2016, a new division, focused on Indigenous Peoples, was established in her Ministry and a pilot project was launched to increase the active offer of French services in provincial courthouses. She took steps to ensure that bilingualism would become a consideration in the selection of candidates for judicial positions, and appointed the first female Franco-Ontarian Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice.

 

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