Joseph Roméo Fernand Guindon (May 30, 1917 – August 21, 1985) was a politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1957 to 1974 who represented the ridings of

Glengarry The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military o ...

and then Stormont. He served as a cabinet minister in the governments

John Robarts John Parmenter Robarts (January 11, 1917 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Early life Robar ...

and

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincial ...

Background

He was born in Fugèreville, Quebec, the son of Pascal Guindon and Josephine Lalonde, and he was educated in

Bourget, Ontario Bourget is a village in Eastern Ontario, Canada, near the Cobbs Lake Creek, in the city of Clarence-Rockland in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell. It was named after Ignace Bourget (1799-1885), one-time Roman Catholic Bishop of Montrea ...

and at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

. He married Claire-Marie Rouette (1917 - 2007). He settled at

Apple Hill, Ontario North Glengarry is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. It is a predominantly elderly invaded rural area located between Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal and Cornwall. Communities The township ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, later moving to

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

. He was secretary for the Chamber of Commerce at Apple Hill. After graduating from school he worked for an Ottawa newspaper called

Le Droit ''Le Droit'' is a Canadian French-language daily newspaper, published in Gatineau, Quebec. Initially established and owned by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the paper was published by Martin Cauchon and his company, Capitales Média ...

and as a translator for the Federal government. He also worked for his father's fuel oil business. In 1956, Guindon and his wife, Claire-Marie, founded a two bay full-service gas station and home heating oil distribution service, known as Guindon Glenoco Ltd., on Pitt Street in Cornwall. The business later expanded to include a second service station on Marleau Avenue, in Cornwall, and it remains active today (2014). All five of Guindon's sons have been actively involved in the business. Guindon also served as a Director of the Ontario Plowmen's Association. His son Luc later served in the Ontario legislature.

Politics

In the 1953 federal election, Guindon ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding Glengarry—Prescott but lost to

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate

Raymond Bruneau Raymond Bruneau (June 12, 1917 – July 5, 1971) was an Ontario translator and political figure. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada representing Prescott and defeating the 24-year incumbent Liberal MP, Élie-Oscar Bertrand, ...

by 2,245 votes. In 1957 he ran in a provincial by-election in the riding of

. He defeated Liberal John McClennan by 2,130 votes. He was re-elected in 1959. In 1963, he moved to the nearby riding of Stormont and was elected. He was re-elected in 1967 and 1971. In 1963, he served as Chairman of the

St. Lawrence Parks Commission The St. Lawrence Parks Commission (french: Commission des parcs du Saint-Laurent) is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario that manages parks and heritage sites along the shoreline of the St. Lawrence River in southeastern Ontario. It fun ...

. In November 1967, he was appointed to cabinet by

as a

Minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...

. In March 1971, he was promoted to

Minister of Tourism and Information The Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries (previously the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport until October 2019), was created on January 18, 2010 when the Ministry of Culture (Ontario), Ministry of Culture and the Minist ...

in the first cabinet of

. In February 1972, he was moved to

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

. In April 1972, Guindon was called upon to resolve the then-longest municipal strike in the history of the City of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

. He was able to engineer a compromise that brought to an end a 30-day strike that had seen 120,000 tons of garbage piled up at 200 temporary collection sites across the city. In 1973, he brought about an increase to the minimum wage which was set at $2.00/hr. In 1974, Guindon resigned his seat to run unsuccessfully in the federal riding of Stormont—Dundas, losing to the

candidate,

Ed Lumley Edward C. Lumley, (born October 27, 1939) is a Canadian corporate executive and former politician. Born in Windsor, Ontario, he received a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1961 from Assumption University (predecessor of the University of Windsor ...

Cabinet positions

Later life and legacy

In 1974 he returned to running his father's fuel oil business, Guindon Petroleum Ltd. He also served as vice-chairman of the

Wintario {{Infobox television , image = , image_upright = , image_size = , image_alt = , caption = , alt_name = , native_name = , genre = Lottery game ...

board. He died of heart failure in 1985. In deference to his lengthy public service, the largest park in the west end of the City of

Cornwall, Ontario Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Ontario and Quebec and the state of New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry and is Ontario's easternmost city. ...

was named in his honour while he was still an MPP.

References

External links

*
''Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, 1945-1978'', C & F Marin (1982)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guindon, Fernand 1917 births 1985 deaths Franco-Ontarian people Members of the Executive Council of Ontario People from Cornwall, Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs