Amanda Simard is the former MPP for
Glengarry—Prescott—Russell in the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the
42nd Parliament of Ontario
The 42nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario was a legislature of the province of Ontario, Canada. The membership was set by the 2018 Ontario general election and sat for two sessions until it was dissolved on May 3, 2022 in advance of the 2022 Onta ...
. Simard was elected in the
2018 provincial election as a member of the
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada ...
, but left the PC caucus on November 29, 2018 after Ontario premier
Doug Ford
Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...
eliminated the province's French-language services commissioner and cancelled plans for a new French language university.
On January 16, 2020, Simard joined the
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser since August 2022.
The party espouses the principles of li ...
. She lost her seat in the
2022 Ontario general election
The 2022 Ontario general election will be held on or before June 2, 2022, to elect Members of Provincial Parliament to serve in the 43rd Parliament of Ontario. As of December 2016, Ontario elections are held on the first Thursday in June in th ...
.
During the 2022 provincial election Simard was defeated by Stéphane Sarrazin.
She is president of the International Network of Young Parliamentarians.
Early life
Simard grew up in
Embrun, Ontario
Embrun (ˈɛmbrən in English; ), is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario in the Eastern Ontario region. Embrun is also part of the National Capital Region. Embrun is part of the larger Russell Township in Prescott and Russell Unit ...
, in her riding, where she lives along with her family, who have been there for centuries. She worked throughout her high school, college, and university years, and worked full-time while simultaneously attending law school full-time. She held down two jobs in high school and paid her own way through law school, graduating from the
University of Ottawa Faculty of Law
The University of Ottawa Faculty of Law (''French: Faculté de droit de l'Université d'Ottawa)'' is the law school at the University of Ottawa, located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1953, the Faculty is today divided into Civil Law a ...
in 2013. After graduating from law school, her intention to run for public office postponed plans to get called to the bar in Ontario.
Simard was part of the
Senate Page Program from 2009 to 2010 and continued to work at the
Senate of Canada as an Executive Assistant and Policy Advisor to Senators from 2010 to 2017.
Simard was elected as a municipal councillor in the
Township of Russell in 2014.
During her time on council, she was the Chair of the Public Library Board, the Parks, Recreation and Culture Advisory Committee and the ad hoc Recreation Complex Committee. She ceased holding municipal office upon her election to the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 2018.
Simard is fluently bilingual in French and English.
Legislative career
She served as
Parliamentary Assistant
In UK politics, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan member of staff employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the ...
to the Minister of Francophone Affairs. On December 4, 2017, Simard was acclaimed as the Ontario PC candidate for Glengarry Prescott Russell after another nominee, Derek Duval, was disallowed by the party executive. Simard left the Ontario PC Party on November 29, 2018, to sit as an independent when Premier Doug Ford eliminated the province's French-language services commissioner and cancelled plans for a French-language university.
She was praised for defence of her fellow
Franco-Ontarians including by a unanimous resolution of the
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
.
On January 16, 2020, Simard joined the Ontario Liberal Party. She was also selected as the Ontario Liberal Party candidate for the 2022 provincial elections. This nomination was defended by interim leader John Fraser but opposed by former riding MPP Jean-Marc Lalonde. On May 8, 2020, she was named the Ontario Liberal Party Critic for Francophone Affairs, Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, and Small Business and Red Tape Reduction.
Election results
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Simard, Amanda
1989 births
21st-century Canadian politicians
21st-century Canadian women politicians
Canadian women lawyers
Franco-Ontarian people
Lawyers in Ontario
Living people
Ontario municipal councillors
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs
Ontario Liberal Party MPPs
Women MPPs in Ontario
Independent MPPs in Ontario
Women municipal councillors in Canada