Mathieu Ravignat

On June 2nd 2011, Mathieu Ravignat was sworn in as the Member of Parliament for Pontiac in the House of Commons of Canada under the New Democratic Party of Canada banner and as part of the Official Opposition. 

Mathieu was born in Orleans, Ontario and spent his summer holidays on Lac Pémichangan near Gracefield, Québec. He is also a longtime resident of Cantley in the Pontiac riding, where he has chosen to raise his family.

Before entering public life, he worked for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council focusing on aboriginal and environmental issues. In his career, he helped develop various research partnerships between different sectors of society including the not for profit, public, private and academic sectors. Mathieu possesses a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Ottawa. He is one of the founders of the Canadian Union of Public Employees local 2626 and was also an active member of Public Service Alliance Canada for 10 years.

As NDP critic for the Treasury Board, he is a member of the House of Commons’ Government Operations and Estimates permanent committee. He has also seated on the Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics standing committee, the Public Accounts committee and the International Trade committee. As an associate member, he can also be called to participate on the Aboriginal Affairs and Official Languages committees.

In spite of his busy schedule as an MP, he continues to give back to his community, by teaching Karate on a not for profit basis to children in the Wakefield area.