Mathieu Ravignat (born January 18, 1973) is a Canadian federal politician from

Cantley, Quebec Cantley is a rural municipality in Quebec, Canada, north of the city of Gatineau, east of the Gatineau River, located within Canada's National Capital Region approximately from Parliament Hill. Cantley is one of six municipalities within the Col ...

, Canada, who was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from the riding of

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality **Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

in the May 2, 2011 federal election. He is a member of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

, which formed the

official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

in the

41st Canadian Parliament The 41st Canadian Parliament was in session from June 2, 2011 to August 2, 2015, with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the 2011 federal election held on May 2, 2011. Parliament convened on June 2, 2 ...

. He was defeated by

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Will Amos in the

2015 Canadian federal election The 2015 Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015, saw the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, win 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister. The election was held to elect m ...

Early life

Of Belgian descent and raised in

Gracefield, Quebec Gracefield is a city in La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. It was reorganized on 13 March 2002 when three former municipalities (Gracefield, Northfield, and Wright) were merged into ...

and Orleans, Ontario, Ravignat received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. He co-founded Local 2626 of the

Canadian Union of Public Employees The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE; french: Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique, links=no; french: SCFP, link=, label=none) is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector – although it has in recent years organized workpl ...

, the labour union that represents student employees of the University of Ottawa. At the time of his election to Parliament, Ravignat was a federal government researcher for

aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

and

environmental issue Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on th ...

Political career

Ravignat first ran for a seat as an independent candidate in the 1997 federal election. Ravignat ran in the riding of

Laurier—Sainte-Marie Laurier—Sainte-Marie is a federal electoral district in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. Its population in 2016 was 111,835. Geography The district includes Côte Sai ...

finishing in last place out of eight candidates earning 123 votes. He was soundly defeated by

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...

leader

Gilles Duceppe Gilles Duceppe (; born July 22, 1947) is a Canadian retired politician, proponent of the Quebec sovereignty movement and former leader of the Bloc Québécois. He was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada for over 20 years and ...

. Ravignat ran for his second time as a New Democratic Party candidate in the 2011 federal election. He was nominated by the party to contest the riding of

. On election night, he won his first term in office and picked up the seat for his party by defeating Conservative

Foreign Affairs Minister In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

Lawrence Cannon Lawrence Cannon, (born December 6, 1947) is a Canadian politician from Quebec and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former Quebec lieutenant. In early 2006, he was made the Minister of Transport. On October 30, 2008, he relinquished oversight of T ...

, despite the Conservative Party gaining its first majority government in the election. He was defeated by Liberal Will Amos in the 2015 Canadian federal election.

Martial arts

Ravignat is a sensei at the Daijiken Traditional

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

Association which he founded in Wakefield, Quebec. He is also one of the founders of the Canada Hokubei Karate-jutsu and Kobu-jutsu Association, a national martial arts organization affiliated with the North America Karate-jutsu Kobu-jutsu Association and with the International Kenshi-kai Organisation (IKO) headquartered in Okinawa, Japan.

Honours

Awarded heraldic crest, banner and flag by Queen Elizabeth II. Awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2012. Awarded the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers, 2018.

Electoral record

References

External links

*
Mathieu Ravignat candidate page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravignat, Mathieu Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec New Democratic Party MPs Independent candidates in the 1997 Canadian federal election Living people 1973 births University of Ottawa alumni Politicians from Ottawa People from Outaouais 21st-century Canadian politicians