Andre Riopel was born and raised in Northern Ontario. He is a physiotherapist who owns a private clinic in Sault Ste. Marie and is dedicated to transforming the city into a healthy, walkable community with green jobs, more bicycle paths, improved transit coverage and incentives for residents to not own vehicles.

Andre has used his bicycle as his main mode of transportation year-round for 35 years, and is a strong advocate who has lobbied city hall for 20 years to improve Sault Ste. Marie’s cycling infrastructure. He is president of the Sault Cycling Club, an organization that promotes cycling for all abilities and ages. In the past year, his committee succeeded in getting the city to approve a 20 km, multi-use non-motorized trail encircling Sault Ste Marie.

A strong proponent of localy sustainable economies, Andre built the city's most environmentally sound commercial building two years ago and opened a bicycle shop called Velorution. He would like to expand green industries and develop incentives for local farmers to grow organic, non-genetically modified produce.