Mauril Bélanger was born and raised in the town of Mattawa, in mid-north Ontario. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Ottawa. Mauril and his wife Catherine are proud grandparents.
Prior to entering politics, Mauril held various positions in the public and private sectors. In the early 1980s, he was an assistant to the late Right Honourable Jean Luc Pépin; afterwards, he worked as a stockbroker and, in the early 1990s, was Chief of Staff to the Chair of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton.
First elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Ottawa—Vanier in a by-election in February 1995, Mauril has been re-elected at every election since.
He was appointed to Cabinet by the Right Honourable Paul Martin in December 2003. During this tenure, he was Deputy House Leader and Chief Government Whip. After the 2004 election, he was reappointed to Cabinet where he assumed numerous responsibilities.
As an MP, he has been a member, Vice Chair and Chair of several committees. He co-founded and currently co-chairs the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association. In May 2012, the Liberal Leader named him “Liberal Advocate for Co-operatives”. The same year, he became Director on the board of the Parliamentary Centre, a non-governmental organization dedicated to the strengthening of democracy.
Mauril has always been a strong advocate of Canada’s linguistic duality, national unity and a just and fair society for all.
In 2005, he was decorated as Commandeur de l’Ordre de la Pléïade, an order of La Francophonie that recognises contributions made to international friendship and cooperation. In April 2007, Hungarian President László Sólyom made him an Officer of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in recognition of his work in support of Hungarian-Canadian relations. Recently, in April 2009, the Royal Canadian Legion recognized Mauril’s contribution to the development of goodwill and comradeship.
In December 2015, Mauril was named Honorary Speaker of the House of Commons by unanimous consent.
Highlights of my work as your MP
Recent Recognitions of MP Mauril Bélanger