Denis Rocan (born February 14, 1949) is a former politician from

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada. He was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

from 1986 to 2007, and served as

speaker of the assembly Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

from 1988 to 1995. Rocan was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party, but became an independent in 2007.

Life

Rocan was born to a

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

family in

Somerset, Manitoba The Village of Somerset is located approximately 130 kilometres south west of Winnipeg, in the center of the Rural Municipality of Lorne at the junction of Provincial Hwy. 23 and PTH 242. Somerset lies on the edge of the picturesque Pembina Hil ...

and was raised in north-end Winnipeg. He is also

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

by background and a direct descendant of

Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière (25 December 1778 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec – 7 September 1855 in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba) was a French-Canadian trapper employed in the fur trade by the Hudson's Bay Company in Rupert's Land. Lagimodière i ...

and

Marie-Anne Gaboury Marie-Anne Lagimodière (née Gaboury; 15 August 1780 – 14 December 1875) was a French-Canadian woman noted as both the grandmother of Louis Riel, and as the first woman of European descent to travel to and settle in what is now Western Canad ...

, the maternal grandparents of

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis in Canada, Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of ...

. He was educated at Sacré-Coeur in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Somerset Collegiate and Otterburne College. He is fluently bilingual in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

. Rocan worked as a farmer before entering political life, and also operated a building and moving company and a grain business. He is a

Shriner Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society. Founded in 1872 in New York City, it is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and has over 200 chapters ...

and a

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, as well as a member of the

Royal Canadian Legion The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian veterans' organization founded in 1925. Members include people who served in the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial or municipal police, Royal Canadian Air, Army and Sea Cade ...

. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1986 provincial election, winning the rural, southern constituency of Turtle Mountain. Rural seats in southern Manitoba are generally considered safe for the Progressive Conservative party, and Rocan was elected by more than 2,000 votes over his nearest opponent. The

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

won the election, and Rocan served as a member of the opposition. Rocan was re-elected over

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

candidate Ross McMillan in the 1988 election, though his majority was cut to about 600 votes. The Progressive Conservatives emerged from this election with a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

, and Rocan was appointed as

speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the assembly by

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Gary Filmon Gary Albert Filmon (born August 24, 1942) is a Canadian politician from Manitoba who served as the 19th premier of Manitoba. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the premier from ...

on July 21, 1988. He was the first Franco-Manitoban to serve as speaker for the provincial assembly. Support for the Liberal Party declined in the 1990 provincial election, and Rocan was easily re-elected in the redistributed constituency of

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

. He won the constituency a second time in the 1995 election, but was not re-appointed as speaker and served for the next four years as a backbench supporter of Filmon's government. Rocan was respected by all parties in the legislature, and his tenure as speaker was free of the controversies over partisanship which plagued his successor,

Louise Dacquay Louise Dacquay (born June 25, 1940) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1990 to 2003, and served as speaker of the assembly from 1995 to 1999. Dacquay was born Louise White, the ...

. Further redistribution brought Rocan into the riding of

Carman In Celtic mythology, Carman (Carmán) or Carmun was a warrior and sorceress from Athens who tried to invade Ireland in the days of the Tuatha Dé Danann, along with her three sons, Dub ("darkness"), Dother ("evil") and Dian ("violence"). She use ...

for the 1999 provincial election. He was easily returned, and was re-elected again in the 2003 election. The Progressive Conservatives lost both elections to the New Democratic Party, and Rocan served as a member of the opposition. A former smoker, he supported premier

Gary Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States, ambassador to the United States from 19 Octo ...

's efforts to ban public smoking in 2003. Rocan supported his friend

Reg Alcock Reginald B. Alcock, (April 16, 1948 – October 14, 2011) was a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Winnipeg South in the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2006 and was a cabinet minister in the government of Prime Minister P ...

in the federal elections of

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, even though Alcock was a

. Alcock won his re-election bids in

Winnipeg South Winnipeg South () is a electoral district (Canada), Canadian federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1979, and since 1988. It covers the southernmost part of the ...

in those years. On November 16, 2006, Rocan lost the Carman Conservative nomination to

Blaine Pedersen Blaine Pedersen is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in the 2007 provincial election for the electoral division of Carman. Pederson is a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. Pe ...

. On April 18, 2007, Rocan was removed from the Conservative caucus for supporting the NDP budget, which his party opposed. He considered running as an independent candidate in the 2007 election, but declined. Rocan later bought a small house in Arizona for the winter, becoming a long-haul trucker.

Electoral record

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocan, Denis 1949 births Living people First Nations politicians Franco-Manitoban people Métis politicians Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs People from Pembina Valley Region, Manitoba 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba Canadian Métis people 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba Politicians affected by a party expulsion process