Flags at Richelieu-Vanier Community Centre lowered to half-mast in honour of Bernard Grandmaître

The flags at the Richelieu-Vanier Community Centre, at 300 des Pères-Blancs Avenue, will be lowered to half-mast from sunrise to sunset on Tuesday, November 25 in honour of the late Bernard Grandmaître, who passed away on October 28, 2025.

Bernard Grandmaître (1933–2025) was a prominent Franco-Ontarian politician and community leader. At the municipal level, he served as alderman of Vanier from 1969 to 1974, then mayor from 1974 to 1980 and again from 1982 to 1984. He later entered provincial politics as a Liberal MPP for Ottawa-East (1984-1999), holding cabinet posts including Minister of Municipal Affairs, Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs and Minister of Revenue. As francophone affairs minister, he played a pivotal role in passing the province’s French Language Services Act (1986), which guaranteed the right to receive government services in French.

His lifelong commitment to the francophone community earned him several honours, most notably his appointment as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2013. In Ottawa, an arena and French Catholic elementary school are named after him, as is an award for advancing and developing francophones in the Ottawa area.

Bernard Grandmaître’s funeral service is scheduled for Tuesday, November 25.