About Marcel
Marcel Lambert is a small business owner, a renter, and a single mother in Ward 1. Born in Canada to a West Indian family, she was raised in Cambridge but spent significant parts of her childhood in Guelph connecting with the local Grenadian community. These early roots in the city helped shape her sense of belonging and community care.
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Having worked for years as a PSW in disability care and in co-op housing, she understands the real struggle for affordability and care. She isn’t just talking about these issues; as someone raising her child on a single income, she is living the same experience as her neighbours.Â
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Her commitment to the community comes from an honest past. Marcel has seen the justice system and addiction from both sides, having spent time in prison and a halfway house herself before rebuilding her life.
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Today, she is a minister and runs a non-profit that provides transitional housing and essential supports for women reintegrating into the community after incarceration. She knows firsthand that stable housing and real dignity are the only ways to create lasting change.Â
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Every week, Marcel is out on the streets offering food, a listening ear, and hope to local people struggling with addiction. She has mentored youth and supported her own family through the complexities of the system.
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On city council, Marcel will bring this heavy-lifting experience to the table, advocating for practical, grounded solutions that ensure no one in Ward 1 is left behind.
The Platform
Putting Affordability and Community first
Alternative Housing Options
More affordable, stable homes for Ward 1 residents.
Marcel has worked in co‑op housing and assisted living, seeing how stable, affordable homes and good care change lives. As a renter and single mother on a single income, she also knows what it feels like when housing costs keep climbing. On council, she will push for more co‑ops, secondary suites, and supportive housing options so people aren’t forced out of the neighbourhoods they call home.
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Marcel will:
• Support more co‑op and non‑profit housing in Ward 1
• Advocate for secondary suites and gentle density where it fits
• Push for stronger supports in transitional and supportive housing.
Community Safety & Reintegration
Safer streets and real support for neighbours in crisis.
Marcel has seen addiction and the justice system from every side and now runs a non-profit that supports women reintegrating after incarceration. Every week, she is on the streets offering food, a listening ear, and hope to people struggling with addiction. On council, she will back well-run housing, harm reduction, and reintegration programs that reduce harm and keep Ward 1 communities safer.
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Marcel will:
• Support harm reduction and outreach programs that meet people where they are
• Back reintegration and transitional housing programs that reduce re‑offending
• Work with community partners to improve responses to mental health and addiction in Ward 1.
Community Activities & Belonging
Improved parks, public spaces, and community programs for Ward 1.
While canvassing, Marcel has heard from neighbours who want more community activities and spaces to come together that are affordable and welcoming to everyone. As a small business owner, minister, and community organizer, she knows how powerful it is when people have safe, accessible places to meet, celebrate, and support one another.
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Marcel will:
• Support more low‑cost and free local events in Ward 1 parks and community spaces
• Work with community groups, faith communities, and small businesses to host inclusive, accessible gatherings
• Advocate for better use of public spaces so families, youth, seniors, and people with disabilities all feel connected and welcome
