University of Ottawa student Mélissa Brunet, 19, will carry the Olympic torch to Marion Dewar Plaza, in front of Ottawa City Hall.University of Ottawa student Mélissa Brunet, 19, will carry the Olympic torch to Marion Dewar Plaza, in front of Ottawa City Hall. (CBC)

A University of Ottawa student has been chosen as one of Ottawa's official Olympic torchbearers.

Mélissa Brunet, 19, of Orléans, Ont., will carry the torch to Marion Dewar Plaza, in front of Ottawa City Hall, on Dec. 12. Her selection as a torchbearer was announced at Wednesday's city council meeting.

“Mélissa is a role model for other youth," Mayor Larry O’Brien said. "Her determination and hard work and conscientious commitment to school and community are not only impressive, they are inspiring.

“We are very proud that she will be representing Ottawa in the Olympic torch relay.”

Jean Labonté, captain of the national sledge hockey team since 2007, will be one of the Olympic torchbearers in Gatineau, Que. Jean Labonté, captain of the national sledge hockey team since 2007, will be one of the Olympic torchbearers in Gatineau, Que. (Greg Strong/The Canadian Press)

This is the second city honour for Brunet, who is fluently bilingual and studies biomedical sciences at the University of Ottawa. In May, she was awarded the Citizen of the Year Youth Award in recognition of her extensive volunteer work with Ottawa Public Health’s smoke-free youth initiative, the Special Olympics, Roger's House and the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.

“"It's an amazing opportunity and a great honour for me," Brunet said after the announcement. "I will carry the torch as high as I can with the great honour and pride of being a Canadian from Ottawa."

In June, Ottawa resident John James, a Scouts Canada volunteer, was also named one of the city's Olympic torchbearers.

The City of Gatineau announced Monday that Jean Labonté, captain of the national sledge hockey team since 2007, will carry the torch when the flame passes through his home city on Dec. 11 and 12. Vancouver will mark the fourth time Labonté has competed in the Paralympic Games. He was part of the Canadian team when it won gold in Torino in 2006 and silver in Nagano in 1998.

The Olympic torch will be in Ottawa from Dec. 12 to Dec. 14. The visit is part of the torch’s 45,000-kilometre journey across Canada, which will culminate with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games.