Manon Gauthier is a politician and administrator in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She served on the Montreal city council since November 2013, and was a member of the Montreal executive committee (i.e., the municipal cabinet) in Denis Coderre's administration throughout this time with responsibility for culture. Gauthier was previously the chief executive officer of the Segal Centre for Performing Arts from 2009 to 2013.
Manon Gauthier | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Manon Gauthier in 2018 | |
| Member of the Montreal Executive Committee responsible for culture, heritage, and design | |
| In office 2013–2017 | |
| Preceded by | Élaine Ayotte |
| Succeeded by | Christine Gosselin |
| Member of the Montreal Executive Committee responsible for the Space for Life | |
| In office 2013–2017 | |
| Preceded by | Michel Bissonnet |
| Succeeded by | Laurence Lavigne Lalonde |
| Member of the Montreal Executive Committee responsible for the status of women | |
| In office 2013–2017 | |
| Preceded by | Émilie Thuillier[1] |
| Montreal City Councillor for Champlain–L'Île-des-Sœurs | |
| In office 2013–2017 | |
| Preceded by | Vacant (previously Ginette Marotte) |
| Succeeded by | Marie-Josée Parent |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Équipe Denis Coderre |
Gauthier retired from city council in August 2017.
Early life and career
editGauthier holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia University.[2] She began her career in the arts and entertainment sector and later served as a vice-president of Weber Shandwick (2000–04) and as a senior vice-president of Cohn & Wolfe (2004–09).[3][4]
Segal Centre CEO
editGauthier was recruited to serve as chief executive officer of the Segal Centre for Performing Arts by board chairperson Alvin Segal in autumn 2009.[5] She has said that her primary responsibility was to take an organization "firmly and proudly" rooted in Montreal's Jewish community and make it a "multidisciplinary center, multilingual and open to the world."[6] During this time, Gauthier also served as a board member of Culture Montreal and a member of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards gala committee.[7]
In December 2010, Gauthier was included in the Financial Post Magazine's listing of the one hundred most influential women in Canada.[8] She resigned her position with the Segal Centre on June 1, 2013.[9]
City councillor
editGauthier was a star candidate for Denis Coderre's party in the 2013 Montreal municipal election. During the campaign, Coderre described Gauthier as one of the "pillars" of his party and promised that she would receive the culture portfolio in his administration.[10] Coderre was successful in the mayoral contest, and Gauthier won a narrow victory in the race for councillor in the Verdun division of Champlain–L'Île-des-Sœurs.
On November 18, 2013, Coderre appointed Gauthier to his executive committee with responsibility for culture, heritage, and design, the Space for Life, and the status of women.[11] By virtue of her position on city council, Gauthier also serves a member of the Verdun borough council.
Gauthier announced in the summer of 2014 that Montreal would cut off its annual funding to the Montreal World Film Festival. She was quoted as saying that "various requirements were not met" following "countless discussions with the Festival's leadership." She further noted that public funds were at risk of being used to pay off the organization's debts, saying, "We are here to support creators, not creditors."[12]
In December 2014, in her capacity as executive member responsible for Space for Life, Gauthier joined with representatives of Paris's National Museum of Natural History and Quebec City's Musée de la civilisation to sign a "Declaration on Biosphere Ethics," intended to cultivate "greater awareness and engagement on the part of their partners, employees and audiences with respect to geological, biological and cultural diversity."[13]
In 2017, Gauthier led a three-day trade delegation to Los Angeles to promote Montreal's film industry.[14]
She has championed an effort to name more of Montreal's streets, parks, and municipal buildings after prominent women, noting a strong gender imbalance in the existing names.[15]
Electoral record
edit| 2013 Montreal municipal election: Councillor, Champlain–L'Île-des-Sœurs | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Équipe Denis Coderre | Manon Gauthier | 2,972 | 26.25 | |||||
| Vrai changement | Mathieu Bélanger | 2,643 | 23.34 | |||||
| Projet Montréal | Jack L. Kugelmass | 2,195 | 19.39 | |||||
| Coalition Montréal | André Julien | 1,612 | 14.24 | |||||
| Équipe Andrée Champoux | Jacques Gendron | 1,067 | 9.42 | |||||
| Option Verdun / Montréal | Marc Touchette | 833 | 7.36 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 11,322 | 100 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 379 | 3.24 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 11,701 | 45.60 | ||||||
| Electors on the lists | 25,660 | – | – | |||||
| Source: Election results, 2013, City of Montreal. | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ Thuiller was styled as the executive committee member responsible for social and community development, family, seniors, youth, and women.
- ^ Samuel Larochelle, "Portrait de Manon Gauthier : femme d'influence, femme de culture, femme d'affaires", Le Huffington Post, 22 March 2013.
- ^ Ernest Hoffman, "Broadening the Centre: Manon Gauthier on Edgy Classics, New Leaders, and Montreal’s Cultural Geography" Archived 2013-12-12 at the Wayback Machine, Almemar, 25 March 2013, accessed 7 December 2013.
- ^ Manon Gauthier, LinkedIn, accessed 7 December 2013.
- ^ "Quebecer Manon Gauthier tapped as Segal Centre's new Executive Director," Canada NewsWire, 28 January 2010; Jennifer Campbell, "Diamonds, Champagne, Bling & Bubbly; Segal Centre Events Support Arts Education," Montreal Gazette, 2 June 2012, H8.
- ^ Samuel Larochelle, "Portrait de Manon Gauthier : femme d'influence, femme de culture, femme d'affaires", Le Huffington Post, 22 March 2013. See also Pat Donnelly, "Departing Segal CEO is 'very, very proud' of centre's progress," Montreal Gazette, 16 May 2013, A26.
- ^ Ron Bruemmer, "Mayor Coderre snubs Projet Montreal; Top decision-making body makes history with Haitian speaker; Cote brought on as special adviser," Montreal Gazette, 19 November 2013, A4; Jennifer Campbell, "Arts fete is simply unforgettable; GG Performing Arts Awards take centre stage at intimate gathering," Montreal Gazette, 11 May 2013, H8.
- ^ Pamela Jeffrey, "Canada's Most Powerful Women," Financial Post Magazine, December 2010.
- ^ "On cjnews.com," Canadian Jewish News, 14 May 2013, p. 47.
- ^ Linda Gyulai, "Forming inner circle is Coderre's next task; Mayor-elect to name inspector general to oversee contract awarding," Montreal Gazette, 5 November 2013, A6. The other two "pillars" were Pierre Desrochers and Damien Silès.
- ^ Coderre names executive committee, CTV News, 19 November 2013, accessed 5 December 2013.
- ^ Brendan Kelly, "Hazy future for underfunded FFM", Montreal Gazette, 4 August 2014, accessed 23 February 2017.
- ^ "Declaration on Biosphere Ethics - A Common Vision Shared By Montréal, Quebec City and Paris," Espace pour la vie [Canada NewsWire], 10 December 2014.
- ^ "Trade Mission to Los Angeles - Montreal: A major one-stop production hub for the film and television industry," Canada NewsWire, 5 March 2017.
- ^ Graeme Hamilton, "Montreal seeks to honour achievements of women", National Post, 8 March 2016, A3.
External links
edit- City of Montreal page (in French)