Gary Robichaud (September 13, 1962 – September 8, 2005) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

teacher and politician, and leader of the Island New Democrats political party in the province of

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. Robichaud was born in Saint John,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...

. He spent his childhood on Prince Edward Island, attending Evangeline Regional High School and then the

University of Prince Edward Island The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is a public university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the only university in the province. Founded in 1969, the enabling legislation is the ''University Act, R.S.P.E.I 2000.'' H ...

. Robichaud began teaching in rural

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

, where he met his wife, Jacqueline. His daughter, Julia was born in 2001. In 1995, he moved back to Prince Edward Island to become a high-school teacher in Summerside. For many years, he taught at Three Oaks Senior High School, during which time he helmed Canada's only intramural

Reach for the Top ''Reach for the Top'' (also known simply as ''Reach'') is a Canadian academic quiz competition for high school students. In the past, it has also been a game show nationally broadcast on the CBC. Matches are currently aired online through Reach ...

league. Joining the Island New Democrats, Robichaud ran unsuccessfully in the 2000 provincial election. In 2002, he ran for the leadership of the party, and won with 62 votes over Ken Bingham with 18 and Deborah Kelly-Hawkes with 4. He was diagnosed with inoperable

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

in late 2003. On June 23, 2005, he announced his resignation as New Democratic leader due to his poor health. He died on September 8, 2005, in Ross Corner. He was replaced as New Democratic Party leader in 2006 by Dean Constable.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robichaud, Gary 1962 births 2005 deaths New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island leaders Politicians from Saint John, New Brunswick Deaths from lung cancer People from Summerside, Prince Edward Island Deaths from cancer in Prince Edward Island University of Prince Edward Island alumni