Why Mathieu Fleury is running for a trustee position with a French public school board

A 2024 file photo of Mathieu Fleury, former Ottawa city councillor and chief administrative officer for the City of Cornwall and now a candidate for election as a French public school board trustee. Photo by Todd Hambleton /Postmedia

Article content

After four years away from active politics, former Rideau-Vanier ward councillor Mathieu Fleury is running for election again, this time for a position as trustee with Ottawa’s French public-school board.

Article content

Fleury, who served on Ottawa city council for 12 years, filed his candidacy for Zone 10 of the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (CEPEO) on Aug. 14.

Article content

Article content

Article content

“For someone like me who has been active in the francophone community, it’s very important to bring some political support there,” Fleury said Saturday in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen. “But, first and foremost, it’s about the neighbourhood and being a parent in the education system and protecting francophone rights.”

Article content

Article content

Why return to active politics?

Article content

Fleury said his motivations to run again for elected office were multi-fold, but his children certainly played a role.

Article content

“Part of the reason why I left active politics four years ago was just a young family,” Fleury said, adding that now he wanted to re-enter the scene and contribute to improving children’s school systems.

Article content

Fleury’s son will start school in Ottawa this week, in the zone Fleury would represent if elected. His youngest, aged three and a half, will start school next year.

Article content

“I also went to Francojeunesse, actually,” Fleury said. “It’s been great to see my son kind of march in the same school environment, and I’ve seen the success of that school board and the hard work they’re doing, so I want to bring my little piece and contribute.”

Article content

Article content

Zone 10, where Fleury is running for election, includes schools in the municipal wards of Rideau-Rockcliffe and Rideau-Vanier. Schools there include Francojeunesse, École publique Le Transit, École élémentaire publique Mauril-Bélanger and École élémentaire publique Trille des Bois.

Article content

Article content

Fleury says he’s not coming in with a pitch to fix a single issue, but, instead, because he values good governance.

Article content

“For someone like me, who’s got that politics DNA, I think I can be of good help if there is impact on francophones’ ability to represent francophones.”

Article content

Different roles, different responsibilities:

Article content

Fleury was first elected Rideau-Vanier ward councillor in 2010 at the age of 25. He was the youngest member of council at the time.

Article content

He served three terms on city council before deciding not to run again for that seat in 2022.

Article content

He subsequently served just over a year as chief administrative officer for the City of Cornwall, but his departure from that post was announced in October 2024.

Article content

Fleury said he recognized that the role of school trustee vastly differed from those of city councillor and CAO.