Kettly Beauregard facts for kids

Kettly Beauregard is a politician from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She was a member of the Montreal city council from 1994 to 2001. She represented the area of Marie-Victorin. Kettly Beauregard was also the first Black city councillor in Montreal's history. This means she was the first person of Black heritage to hold this important position.

Early Life and Education

Kettly Beauregard was born in Haiti to a family that was not rich but had enough money for a comfortable life. She grew up in a nice area called Pétion-Ville. In 1972, she moved to Canada. She later studied Political Science at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She earned her degree in 1981.

From 1990 to 1994, Kettly Beauregard led an organization called Service d'aide communautaire. This group helped people in the Côte-des-Neiges area by providing important social services. Social services are programs that help people with things like housing, food, and finding jobs.

Serving on the City Council

Kettly Beauregard was elected to the city council in the 1994 Montreal municipal election. She ran with Pierre Bourque, who was the leader of the Vision Montreal party. Since Mr. Bourque was elected as mayor, Kettly Beauregard took his place on the council.

After her election, she shared her thoughts. She said she was proud that people in her area, mostly French-speaking, accepted her as their representative. She also believed that police officers needed to understand different cultural groups better. She wanted them to avoid negative ideas about people from different backgrounds.

Vision Montreal won the election, meaning they had the most seats on the council. This gave them a majority government. Kettly Beauregard supported Mayor Bourque's plans. In November 1994, she became the head of the Montreal Urban Community's public security committee. This committee was in charge of overseeing police services in the city. She wanted to improve how police and different cultural groups got along.

In 1995, Kettly Beauregard spoke out about some police officers. They had taken pictures of Black students without their parents' permission. She felt this was a misunderstanding, not racism. She also supported the police chief's plan to start community policing. This idea helps police work more closely with local communities.

In February 1997, Kettly Beauregard joined the Montreal executive committee. This committee is like a city cabinet. She was responsible for cultural relations, which means helping different cultures in Montreal connect and understand each other. She also joined committees for city planning and money matters. She left her role as head of the public security committee.

Second Term as Councillor

Kettly Beauregard was re-elected in the 1998 Montreal municipal election. She ran again with Mayor Bourque, who won his second term. She continued her work on the executive committee, focusing on cultural relations.

In March 2000, she traveled with Mayor Bourque to Trinidad and Tobago. The city said the trip was to learn about organizing summer carnivals.

In the 2001 Montreal municipal election, Kettly Beauregard was elected for a third time. However, Mayor Bourque lost his re-election bid. Because of election rules, he took her council seat instead. Kettly Beauregard later said that the rule allowing a mayor to take a council seat from another candidate should be changed.

After City Council

After leaving the city council in 2001, Kettly Beauregard continued her political career. In 2003, she ran for the National Assembly of Quebec as a candidate for the Parti Québécois (PQ). She did not win, finishing second.

She tried to return to the Montreal city council in the 2005 Montreal municipal election as an independent candidate. She finished third in that race. She tried again in a special by-election in September 2006, running for the Projet Montréal party. She came in a close second.

In 2010, Kettly Beauregard was working with a group that helped Montreal's Haitian community.

In 2011, she ran for the House of Commons of Canada in the 2011 Canadian federal election. She was a candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada. During this election, she mentioned that she was still a member of the Parti Québécois at the provincial level. She explained that not all PQ members want Quebec to separate from Canada. She finished third in that election.

Electoral Record

Federal

Provincial

Municipal