Gisèle Lalonde, (; June 28, 1933 – July 26 or 27, 2022) was a Canadian politician and community activist, who served as the mayor of

Vanier, Ontario Vanier (formerly Eastview) is a neighbourhood in the Rideau-Vanier Ward of the east end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Historically francophone and working class, the neighbourhood was a separate city until being amalgamated into Ottawa in 200 ...

from 1985 to 1991.

Biography

She was born in Eastview (later renamed Vanier in 1969). She received a teaching certificate from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

and taught in the Ottawa area from 1951 to 1973. During that time, she was also a member of the French Separate School Board for 13 years. She acted as an advisor on the subject of

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

education to

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and also chaired a council which advised

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario () is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly; as such, the premier typically sits as a member of Provincia ...

on francophone matters. She ran for the

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC; ), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party, or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada. During its uninterr ...

in the

1977 Ontario general election The 1977 Ontario general election was held on June 9, 1977, to elect the 125 members of the 31st Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Progressive Conservative Party, led by Premier Bill Davis, was re-elected for an eleventh consecutive term in ...

in the riding of Ottawa East, losing to Liberal Albert Roy. She married Gilles Lalonde. She was elected mayor of Vanier in 1985. In 1988, she founded and was the first president of the

Francophone Association of Municipalities of Ontario The Francophone Association of Municipalities of Ontario (or AFMO, from its French name, ''Association française des municipalités d'Ontario'') is a Canadian political organization of municipalities in the province of Ontario which have signifi ...

. She was a key leader in the S.O.S. Montfort campaign which prevented the closing of the

Montfort Hospital Montfort Hospital (), commonly shortened to Montfort in both English and French, is a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Ottawa. It offers short-term primary and secondary health care, offering service in both the French and E ...

, the largest francophone hospital in Ontario. She was also part of the Scout District d'Ottawa (

Association Scout du Canada Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

) for five years as of 2006. She also wrote an autobiography. She was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2003 and the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the Advice (constitutional), advice of the Executive Council ...

in 2006. A school, L'école secondaire publique Gisèle Lalonde in Orleans, Ontario, is named in her honour.

References

* 1933 births 2022 deaths Mayors of Eastview and Vanier Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Ontario Women mayors of places in Ontario Franco-Ontarian people Women in Ontario politics Ottawa-Carleton regional councillors University of Ottawa alumni Franco-Ontarian history Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario candidates in Ontario provincial elections Ontario school board trustees 20th-century mayors of places in Ontario {{Ontario-mayor-stub