Mathieu Ravignat

Mathieu Ravignat
Shadow Minister for the Treasury Board
In office
April 19, 2012 – November 19, 2015
LeaderThomas Mulcair
Preceded byAlexandre Boulerice
Succeeded byPierre Poilievre
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Pontiac
In office
May 2, 2011 – October 19, 2015
Preceded byLawrence Cannon
Succeeded byWill Amos
Personal details
Born (1973-01-18) January 18, 1973 (age 51)
Orleans, Ontario
Political partyNew Democrat
ResidenceCantley, Quebec
ProfessionPolicy researcher, leisure time Karate instructor,

Mathieu Ravignat (born January 18, 1973) is a Canadian federal politician from Cantley, Quebec, Canada, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada from the riding of Pontiac in the May 2, 2011 federal election. He is a member of the New Democratic Party, which formed the official opposition in the 41st Canadian Parliament. He was defeated by Liberal Will Amos in the 2015 Canadian federal election.

Early life

Of Belgian descent and raised in Gracefield, Quebec and Orleans, Ontario, Ravignat received a master's degree in political science. He co-founded Local 2626 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the labour union that represents student employees of the University of Ottawa. At the time of his election to Parliament, Ravignat was a federal government researcher for aboriginal and environmental issues.[1]

Political career

Ravignat first ran for a seat as an independent candidate in the 1997 federal election. Ravignat ran in the riding of Laurier—Sainte-Marie finishing in last place out of eight candidates earning 123 votes. He was soundly defeated by Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe.[2]

Ravignat ran for his second time as a New Democratic Party candidate in the 2011 federal election. He was nominated by the party to contest the riding of Pontiac. On election night, he won his first term in office and picked up the seat for his party by defeating Conservative Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, despite the Conservative Party gaining its first majority government in the election.[3][4][5][6] He was defeated by Liberal Will Amos in the 2015 Canadian federal election.

Martial arts

Ravignat is a sensei at the Daijiken Traditional Karate Association which he founded in Wakefield, Quebec.[7] He is also one of the founders of the Canada Hokubei Karate-jutsu and Kobu-jutsu Association, a national martial arts organization affiliated with the North America Karate-jutsu Kobu-jutsu Association and with the International Kenshi-kai Organisation (IKO) headquartered in Okinawa, Japan.[8]

Honours

Awarded heraldic crest, banner and flag by Queen Elizabeth II.[9]

Awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2012.

Awarded the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers, 2018.[10]

Electoral record

2015 Canadian federal election: Pontiac
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Will Amos 34,154 54.54 +39.35 $127,717.07
New Democratic Mathieu Ravignat 14,095 22.51 -24.76 $47,758.81
Conservative Benjamin Woodman 8,721 13.93 -12.26 $35,653.16
Bloc Québécois Nicolas Lepage 4,327 6.91 -2.64 –
Green Colin Griffiths 1,089 1.74 +0.11 $7,418.25
Strength in Democracy Pascal Médieu 131 0.21 – $379.41
Marxist–Leninist Louis Lang 108 0.17 – –
Total valid votes/expense limit 62,625 100.0   $254,590.45
Total rejected ballots 467 – –
Turnout 63,092 – –
Eligible voters 87,365
Source: Elections Canada[11][12]
2011 Canadian federal election: Pontiac
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Mathieu Ravignat 22,376 45.71 +30.28
Conservative Lawrence Cannon 14,441 29.50 -3.20
Liberal Cindy Duncan McMillan 6,242 12.75 -11.49
Bloc Québécois Maude Tremblay 4,917 10.05 -12.28
Green Louis-Philippe Mayrand 849 1.73 -3.28
Marxist–Leninist Benoit Legros 124 0.25 -0.01
Total valid votes/expense limit 48,949 100.00
Total rejected ballots 413 0.84 +0.13
Turnout 49,362 60.00
Eligible voters 82,308 – –

References

  1. ^ "New Democrats: Candidate Mathieu Ravignat". Ottawa Citizen. April 20, 2011.
  2. ^ "Laurier—Sainte-Marie election results". Parliament of Canada. June 2, 1997. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
  3. ^ "2011 General Election". Elections Canada. May 5, 2011.
  4. ^ Lesley Ciarula Taylor (May 3, 2011). "Dryden falls, Trudeau survives: Notable election winners and losers". Toronto Star.
  5. ^ Steven Chase (May 4, 2011). "Majority man: Harper gets more ambitious, relaxed and mainstream". The Globe and Mail.
  6. ^ "Profiles of some new NDP MPs". Ottawa Citizen. May 3, 2011.
  7. ^ http://daijikendojo.webs.com/
  8. ^ "Okinawa Goju-Ryu Kenshi-kai Karate-jutsu Kobu-jutsu Association North America Headquarters - Kenshi-kai Okinawa Goju-Ryu Karate-jutsu". Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
  9. ^ http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2012/2012-11-03/html/gh-rg-eng.html
  10. ^ "Mr. Mathieu Ravignat".
  11. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Pontiac, 30 September 2015
  12. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates