Madeleine Meilleur’s list of achievements is impressive. First a nurse, then a lawyer, she was elected Vanier city councillor in 1991 and regional councillor in 1994, a role she retained when the City of Ottawa was amalgamated in 2000. In 2003, she entered provincial politics under the Liberal banner in the riding of Ottawa–Vanier, where she was elected four times. “My challenge at every election was to increase my majority. I wanted to represent the citizens well and listen to them. I loved serving them, and I liked working with people and giving them a voice.”
Over the years, she served in turn as Minister of Culture, Minister of Community and Social Services, and Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services in the Dalton McGuinty government. When Kathleen Wynne offered her the role of Attorney General of Ontario, a position she held until her retirement from politics in 2016, it was her crowning achievement. “I said to the Premier, ‘What a beautiful gift! I accept the position on behalf of Francophones and women,’” she stated in JUST., the official magazine of the Ontario Bar Association, at the time of her appointment in 2014.
“My greatest achievement in the Francophonie? The creation of the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner, which supports Ontario’s Francophone community by overseeing the enforcement of the French Language Services Act,” said Meilleur, who was also Minister of Francophone Affairs for nearly 13 years. In terms of the Francophonie, Meilleur also worked to create a municipal policy on bilingualism in Ottawa and the adoption of an inclusive definition of the term “Francophone” to better reflect the diversity of Ontario’s French-speaking community. She campaigned against the closure of the Montfort Hospital, secured funding for three shelters for Francophone women experiencing domestic violence, and much more. As Attorney General of Ontario, she made bilingualism a criterion for judicial appointments.
A feminist father
Madeleine Meilleur was born in 1948 in the Upper Laurentian village of Kiamika into a loving family of seven children—six girls and one boy. Her father, a sawmill owner and village political organizer, was ahead of his time, insisting that his daughters get an education, learn English, be independent and not be afraid of anyone. At 17, his daughter Madeleine decided to become a nurse by training at Montfort Hospital in Ottawa, the very institution she would help save some 30 years later.
Although she went to Ottawa to learn English, it was French that would become the future politician’s hobbyhorse. “When I started working in politics, I witnessed all the struggles of the Franco-Ontarian community and its determination to keep its language,” she remarked. “It was there that I understood the value of French.” While a nurse at the Montfort, she helped found the Ontario Nurses’ Association, after which she decided to go to law school. “I’ve always said that the University of Ottawa changed my life. My law studies gave me a lot of confidence and were a springboard.”
A flood of tributes
In 2016, after a political career spanning 25 years, the announcement of Meilleur’s retirement from politics sent shockwaves throughout Ontario’s Francophone community. Tributes poured in from everywhere: former city councillor Mathieu Fleury (BSc ’08) described her as a mentor and admired her ability to bring people together, while France Gélinas, MPP and former Francophone Affairs Critic for the Ontario NDP, said she was a Francophone first and a Liberal second. Renowned Franco-Ontarian lawyer RonaldCaza (LL.B. ’87) expressed all his admiration for Meilleur’s extraordinary work. Her successes earned her many prestigious honours, including the Order of Merit of the Civil Law Section of the University of Ottawa, the Order of Ottawa, and the title of Chevalière de la Légion d’honneurof the French Republic.
Meilleur has remained very active following her retirement from politics. She is a member of several boards of directors, including the Advisory Committee of the University of Ottawa's LIFE Research Institute, and has also given talks and provided training in public governance and leadership to political players in Iraq and Africa, particularly women. Like her father, Meilleur is undeniably a committed feminist. “I firmly believe that peace in the world will come through women leading countries, and I always encourage women to go into politics and take up positions of responsibility.”
The Francophonie, again and always ...
In the fall of 2020, at age 71 and in the midst of the pandemic, Meilleur agreed to become the executive director of the Vanier Museopark, Ottawa’s only French-language museum, which also operates an authentic sugar shack in the heart of an urban maple grove. Four years after Meilleur’s arrival, the venue has been transformed: it now houses a new permanent exhibition, Vanier. Notre place, which highlights the history of Ontario’s French-speaking community and Vanier’s role in particular. In addition, the sugar shack, which burned down in 2020, has been rebuilt.
Madeleine Meilleur has broken her share of glass ceilings. Although she encountered a good many bullies and reactionaries, she persevered to achieve her goals by working hard and surrounding herself with the right people, without ever becoming cynical or bitter. What an inspiring woman!
