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Stephen Blais
Canadian politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Stephen Christopher Leonard Blais[3] MPP (born July 20, 1980) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Orléans since February 27, 2020.
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Before being elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, he was the Ottawa City Councillor for Cumberland Ward. He won the ward in the 2010 Ottawa municipal election, defeating the incumbent Rob Jellett. He was re-elected in the 2014 and 2018 municipal elections.
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Early life and career
Blais was born at the Grace Hospital in Ottawa to Stephen and Debbie Blais (née Kane)[3] and grew up in the Queenswood Heights neighbourhood of Orléans in the former Cumberland Township. Upon graduating from St. Peter Catholic High School, he attended the University of Ottawa to pursue a bachelor's degree in political science.[4][5] Following university, he served as Executive Assistant to Jim Watson while Watson served in the Ontario Cabinet. Blais later moved to Carleton University where he worked as a media and communications advisor.[6]
Prior to being elected as a councillor, Blais served as an Ottawa Catholic School Board Trustee for Orléans-Cumberland. He was first elected as a Trustee in 2006 when he defeated the incumbent.[7][8]
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Political career
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School Trustee
As part of his election campaign, Blais promised to donate the pay raise trustees voted for themselves.[9] In 2006, Blais endowed a bursary at Carleton University for high school students from Orleans, Ontario.[10]
Ottawa City Council
In 2010, Blais was elected the city councillor for Cumberland Ward, defeating the two-term incumbent, Rob Jellett.[8] In his first term, he secured an environmental assessment for the proposed widening Highway 174 and pushed to extend light rail transit to Orléans.[11]
In 2011, Blais successfully spearheaded a campaign to ban smoking on outdoor patios in Ottawa.[12][13]
In 2013, Blais proposed that Ontario should re-upload Highway 174 and if not, allow the City of Ottawa to introduce a toll on out-of-town users to help pay for the much needed widening of the highway with the addition of a dedicated bus lane to Rockland.[14] Ottawa City Council received a direction to pursue the uploading of Highway 174 and if not, to designate it as a toll highway under Subsection 40(2) of the Municipal Act, 2001 if Council so chooses in the future.[15] The idea was well received by residents of Orléans.[16]
In his first term of office, Blais announced a plan to partner with the local homebuilding industry to complete an $8 million expansion of Millennium Park.[17]
In 2014, Blais was named Chair of the City of Ottawa Transit Commission. The Transit Commission is the body charged with oversight of the City's public transit provider OC Transpo.[18]
Blais was re-elected in the 2014 and 2018 municipal elections.[19]
Provincial Politics
In October 2019, Blais announced that he would be seeking the Liberal nomination for the provincial riding of Orléans, which had been left vacant when Marie-France Lalonde stepped down to run for the federal Liberal Party.[20] He won the nomination on November 9.[21] Blais won the February 27 by-election with 55 per cent of the vote, defeating his nearest rival, Progressive Conservative candidate Natalie Montgomery, by more than 8,000 votes.[22] This is the largest majority in Orléans in more than 30 years.[23]
Blais has served as the Ontario Liberal critic for several areas:[24]
- Caucus Chair
- Municipal Affairs and Housing
- Education
- Economic Development and Trade
As of July 7, 2024, he serves as the Liberal Party critic for Infrastructure and Municipalities and as the critic for Labour and Skills Training.
In 2021, Blais introduced a private member's bill, Uploading Highways 174 and 17 Act, 2021, to return Highway 174 and Highway 17 back to provincial jurisdiction. The two highways had been downloaded to the municipal governments in the 1990s.[25][26]
He was re-elected in the 2022 Ontario election.[27]
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Personal life
Blais and his wife Marta have one son. They live in the Chaperal neighbourhood.[28]
On January 7, 2013, while working out at a local gym, Blais suffered a heart attack. He was initially treated at Montfort Hospital before being transferred to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.[12] Blais spent four months in hospital recovering.[29]
Election results
Provincial
Municipal
School Board
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References
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