For the past four years Dominique Maltais has been an active member of Canada’s National Snowboarding (High Performance) Team competing worldwide in elite snowboarding competitions. Proudly representing Canada in the Individual Snowboard Cross Division where she continues to capture numerous podiums. Dominique was born in Charlevoix, more specifically Petite-Riviere-Saint-François, a beautiful village located in the Québec province between the mountains and the St. Lawrence River. She feels fortunate to have grown-up at the foot of one of the most beautiful ski resorts, the Massif, where she was exposed to winter sports at a young age.  Dominique has an enormous thirst for excitement and new discovery, hence her decision to master the art of snowboarding at a young age (a new extreme sport) rather then skiing.

Her first snowboarding experience could be described as disastrous. She still remembers half way through her first run she was very scared, crying and swearing that she would never snowboard again. However, her daring and tenacious style had her climbing the peaks again the next season.

Her second attempt at snowboarding gave way for her new passion in life. If you are looking for Dominique on the weekends in the winter season, when there is the slightest hint of snow, she can not be found … without a snowboard, on her way to or already hitting the slopes carving out new paths. Dominique is driven to improve and explore the art of snowboarding, setting new personal goals and higher standards year to year. Her passion and discipline for the sport has been a tremendous asset in making the Individual Snowboard Cross Division more popular internationally. 2006 was a phenomenal year for Dominique as she captured a medal, placing on the podium at the Turin Olympics and received the Crystal Globe from the World Cup Competition. Dominique still dreams of becoming one of the best snowboarders in the world and capturing the Gold Medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, in addition to a few more Crystal Globes.


A profession driven by action
Another childhood dream of Dominique’s was to become a firefighter. She has watched countless times numerous videos on firefighting and the classic television program in Québec known as ‘Pompiers en Alerte!

Her first year studying firefighting was at the campus of Notre-Dame-de-Foy. It was a memorable and revealing year for her. She boldly faced many new challenges, which lead her on a new undefined path of discovery, on both a personal and professional level. Her passion for firefighting continued to grow each day.

She continued her studies at Montmorency College, located at Laval, Québec.  During this time she held several part-time jobs, in addition to studying full time and competing fulltime. When Dominique graduated The City of Montreal hired her on as a full-time firefighter. Dominique’s passion and thirst for experience in her professional life is apparent, for she went on to study fire management.


Busy schedule + Busy woman = High sense of priorities
Fortunately for Dominique, from the beginning her work schedule, allowed her ample time to take part in numerous competitions. She feels very fortunate to have the opportunity to continue to grow in both of her professions, but she is a very busy girl. Her Montreal employer is aware of her passion for snowboarding and works with her to ensure that she receives as much free time as possible for her training and competitions. After the 2006 Olympics, she was forced to make a decision between her professions. In the end, she decided to take an extended leave of absence from firefighting as to devote all of her time and energy into developing her talent and skills as a snowboarder. Striving to make her ‘One Dream’ a reality and ‘bring home the Gold’ from the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

// Dominique responds to your questions