Gilbert Parent

The Honourable Gilbert Parent PC MP
33rd Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
In office 1994 – January 29, 2001
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor General	Ray Hnatyshyn Roméo LeBlanc Adrienne Clarkson
Prime Minister	Jean Chrétien
Preceded by	John Allen Fraser
Succeeded by	Peter Milliken
Member of the Canadian Parliament for St. Catharines
In office 1974–1979
Preceded by	Trevor Morgan
Succeeded by	Joe Reid
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Welland
In office 1979–1984
Preceded by	Victor Railton
Succeeded by	Allan Pietz
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Welland—St. Catharines—Thorold
In office 1988–1997
Preceded by	Allan Pietz
Succeeded by	riding redistributed
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Niagara Centre
In office 1997–2000
Preceded by	first member
Succeeded by	Tony Tirabassi
Personal details
Born	July 25, 1935 Mattawa, Ontario
Died	March 3, 2009 (aged 73) Toronto, Ontario
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Joan Parent, partner Sandra Page
Profession	teacher

Gilbert "Gib" Parent, PC (July 25, 1935 – March 3, 2009) was a Canadian Member of Parliament. He is best known in his role of Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons between 1994 and 2001.

Parent was born on July 25, 1935, in Mattawa, Ontario and his janitor father moved the young family to Welland, Ontario. He went to St. Joseph's College on a football scholarship, and earned a teaching certificate from the Ontario College of Education.^[1]

Prior to his election to the House of Commons, he worked as a teacher and was vice-principal at Thorold Secondary School.

Political career

Parent was elected to Parliament six times as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. He was first elected in the 1974 election representing the riding of St. Catharines. He was re-elected in the 1979, 1980. Parent was defeated in the 1984 election as Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative Party swept to power, but regained his seat four years later in 1988, and was re-elected in the 1993 and 1997 elections.

His riding's name was subsequently changed to Welland, then Welland—St. Catharines—Thorold and finally Niagara Centre. Under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Parent served, at different times between 1977 and 1981, as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs, to the Minister of Labour and to the Minister of State (Sports).

Parent was first elected Speaker in January 1994. In the House, Parent was forced into the challenge of presiding over a five-party Parliament that resulted from the emergence of the Bloc Québécois and the Reform Party. Upon being re-elected to the position in September 1997, he told the Montreal Gazette that he expected the different voices in Parliament, informed by strong opinions on all sides, would make the House the lively place it should be.

Parent died at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto at the age of 73 of pneumonia while recovering from colon cancer surgery.^[2] He is survived by his brothers, Gerald Parent and Romeo Parent, wife of 39 years, Joan Parent (née Davis), their 4 daughters, Michele (Dave) Hundertmark, Monique (John) Finley, Madeleine (Mark) Thomas, and Terri (Sandro) Perruzza and 13 grandchildren, and partner Sandra Page, 2 daughters and 1 grandchild.

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 1997
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	PARENT, Gib	24,115
	Reform	JOHNSTONE, Don	12,053
	Progressive Conservative	ATKINSON, Joe	5,827
	New Democratic	WILSON, James	5,510
	Christian Heritage	BYLSMA, David	515
	Natural Law	LARRASS, Anne	363
	Marxist–Leninist	WALKER, Ron	143

Canadian federal election, 1993

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	PARENT, Gilbert	25,534	53.97%
	Reform	JOHNSTONE, Don	11,901	25.15%
	Progressive Conservative	ST. AMAND, Terry	5,472	11.56%
	New Democratic Party	DOBRUCKI, Rob	3,737	7.89%
	Natural Law	AMOS, Laureen	311	0.66%
	Green	FANNON, Jim	304	0.64%
	Abolitionist	DOUCET, Leonard	64	0.14%

Canadian federal election, 1988

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	PARENT, Gilbert	17,878
	Progressive Conservative	PIETZ, Allan	16,287
	New Democratic Party	LEE, Ken	12,646
	Green	THOMSON, Rachel	273
	No affiliation	WALKER, Ron	71
	Communist	WALLIS, David	57

Canadian federal election, 1984
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Progressive Conservative	Allan Pietz	18,418
	Liberal	Gilbert Parent	14,481
	New Democratic	Rob Dobrucki	10,508
	Green	Andrew Rivett	284
	Communist	John MacLennan	145

Canadian federal election, 1980
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Gilbert Parent	18,112
	New Democratic	Robert Wright	11,729
	Progressive Conservative	George Krusell	11,292
	Communist	John Severinsky	95
	Marxist–Leninist	Ron Walker	78

Canadian federal election, 1979
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Gilbert Parent	16,025
	Progressive Conservative	Allan E. Pietz	15,527
	New Democratic	Robert Wright	11,151
	Independent	John L. Sabados	218
	Communist	John Severinsky	83
	Marxist–Leninist	Ron Walker	62

Canadian federal election, 1974
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Gilbert Parent	22,528
	Progressive Conservative	Trevor Morgan	16,402
	New Democratic	Fred Dickson	9,147
	Social Credit	Jean Charles Hamelin	443
	Communist	William Stewart	129
	Marxist–Leninist	Roger Ten Trey	69

References

1. Former MP Gib Parent 'loved his country'. St. Catharines Standard, March 4, 2009.
2. "Former House Speaker Gib Parent dead at 73". Montreal Gazette. March 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-04.

External links

• Gilbert Parent – Parliament of Canada biography