JEAN-FRANÇOIS DUGAS (Le Droit)
It takes a certain amount of courage to run for office. All the more so, some would say, when you are up against a formidable opponent, a premier no less. Yet on June 2, provincial election day in Ontario, Julie Lutete's name will be on the ballot in Etobicoke North, the epicentre of Ford Nation, and its leader, Doug Ford.
On the phone, the candidate for the Ontario Liberal Party (OLP) does not seem intimidated by her Progressive Conservative opponent and his army of loyalists, omnipresent in his Toronto stronghold.
"Why Etobicoke North? I didn't even look at who the MPP was," she says. "Of course I knew Doug Ford, but that wasn't my concern. I told myself that the best riding for me to run in was Etobicoke North because I lived there for more than 15 years. It's also the riding where I carried out activities with communities […] That's what pushed me to run there, regardless."
Still very involved with her fellow citizens today, Ms. Lutete also serves as president of the Coalition of Francophone Black People of Ontario. The organization represents this community at the provincial level. In 2009, she became vice-president of the Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario, which still represents all Franco-Ontarians.
"Francophones have an important place here in Canada, and particularly in Ontario."
— Julie Lutete is the Ontario Liberal Party candidate in Etobicoke North.
The political bug grew as she became more involved in her community. That is where she embraced Liberal values, without believing she could make the leap into active politics.
"When I looked at the system, I couldn't even think of running because there were no opportunities," she recalls.
Little by little, she became a volunteer. Then, in 2018, during the OLP leadership race, she became actively involved as a delegate for Steven Del Duca, now the party leader.
"That's when I followed the whole process. And when it was time for a nomination, I put my name forward for the Etobicoke riding."
A harsh first visit
But this path dotted with successes does not tell the whole story.
Ms. Lutete arrived in Canada from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1997, officially at least. Three years earlier, her first visit to the country had left a rather bitter taste in her mouth. She had come after learning that her older sister, a Torontonian by adoption, had been admitted to Scarborough General Hospital.
"It was news that devastated the whole family. I arrived and the doctor made me understand there was nothing to be done. She was going to die."
Ms. Lutete then decided to bring her sister back to her home country so she could spend her last days with her family. However, the Ontario government refused to let her niece and nephew leave, even though no one intended to stay in Canada. Eventually, the children were placed in foster families. Their mother died a month after returning home.
Fleeing the war in the DRC, Ms. Lutete chose to settle in Canada to be reunited with the young members of her family.
"Unfortunately, children's aid did not want to entrust the children to me, which really bothered me."
However, the situation changed when they turned 16. They moved in with their aunt.
"Coming from Africa, I didn't know the concept of bilingualism. In Africa, we thought Canada was a bilingual country, so wherever you were, you would hear English and French. The reality is different… I wondered how a big Canadian city could have trouble speaking French"
— Julie Lutete, Ontario Liberal Party candidate
Bilingual Canada?
On top of that, the newcomer faced several barriers, both linguistic and in her integration in general.
"Coming from Africa, I didn't know the concept of bilingualism. In Africa, we thought Canada was a bilingual country, so wherever you were, you would hear English and French. The reality is different… I wondered how a big Canadian city could have trouble speaking French […] As soon as I understood that the system was only somewhat (bilingual), I decided to help other people."
It was this whole chain of events that led her to create the Auberge francophone d'accueil in 1999.
The place became a real hub for Francophone newcomers, and even for asylum seekers from the United States during a specific period. All were looking for resources in their mother tongue. Ms. Lutete agreed.
"I decided to start helping Francophone immigrants so they wouldn't face the same difficulties I did,"
Ms. Lutete says she is redoubling her efforts to create THE surprise of the Ontario election. Every day, she goes door to door and repeats these messages, including the importance of the French fact.
INSTAGRAM OF CANDIDATE JULIE LUTETE
And where do you think this organization is located to this day? Etobicoke.
Impossible?
Ms. Lutete says she is redoubling her efforts to create THE surprise of the Ontario election. Every day, she goes door to door and repeats these messages, including the importance of the French fact.
"Francophones have an important place here in Canada, and particularly in Ontario," she argues.
The OLP strategists did miss one thing, however. The official website of the aspiring MPP's campaign, prepared by the party, is entirely in English, except for the word libéral.
"We are working on it," the rookie candidate assures.
"We have more English-speaking volunteers than French-speaking ones," she laments.
Despite this blunder, Ms. Lutete is not ready to give up any time soon. She is counting on outreach and mobilization so that members of diverse communities and Francophones — more numerous than before — choose her name in the voting booth.
"Nothing is impossible. Nothing is impossible," she repeats at the end of the interview.
