Gerald Joseph Doucet, QC (May 4, 1937 – November 23, 2017) was a Canadian politician and lobbyist. He represented the electoral district of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia Each General Assembly of the ...

from 1963 to 1974, as a Progressive Conservative. Born in Grand Étang, Nova Scotia in 1937, Doucet graduated from

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Fra ...

in 1958, and went on to earn a law degree from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...

in 1961. Doucet was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 1963 general election, defeating

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 ...

leader

Earl Urquhart Earl Wallace Urquhart (February 22, 1921 – August 17, 1971) was a Canadian politician and lawyer. Early life Urquhart was born in West Bay, Inverness County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Urquhart served in the Canadian Infantry Corps and the Ro ...

by 83 votes in the Richmond riding. He was re-elected in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

and

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and 1 ...

. He served in the

Executive Council of Nova Scotia The Executive Council of Nova Scotia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Nova Scotia) is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Almost always made up of members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the Cabinet is simi ...

as Provincial Secretary, and Minister of Education. When appointed in 1964, Doucet was the first

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the ...

cabinet minister in the province's history. Doucet ran for leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia at the party's 1971

leadership convention {{Politics of Canada In Politics of Canada, Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leadership, leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader. Overview In Canada, ...

, finishing second to John Buchanan. Starting in 1984, the year he wrote ''Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Agreement: One Year Later'', Doucet was a member of the successful but sometimes controversial

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

consulting firm Government Consultants International (GCI), along with

Frank Moores Frank Duff Moores (February 18, 1933 – July 10, 2005) served as the second premier of Newfoundland. He served as leader of the Progressive Conservatives from 1972 until his retirement in 1979. Moores was also a successful businessman in b ...

Francis Fox Francis Fox (born December 2, 1939) is a former member of the Senate of Canada, Canadian Cabinet minister, and Principal Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, and thus was a senior aide to Prime Minister Paul Martin. He also worked as a lo ...

, and Gary Ouellet (''The Insiders'', by

John Sawatsky Ferdinand John Sawatsky (born 1948) is a Canadian author, journalist and interviewer. Early career Born in Winkler, Manitoba in 1948, he graduated from Mennonite Educational Institute in Abbotsford and attended Simon Fraser University in the late ...

, 1987; ''On The Take'', by

Stevie Cameron Stevie Cameron, , (, Stephanie Graham Dahl; born 11 October 1943) is a Canadian investigative journalist and author. Early life and work Stephanie "Stevie" Graham Dahl was born in Belleville, Ontario, to Harold Edward Dahl, a mercenary America ...

, 1994). In 2004 Doucet published his biography, ''Acadian Footprints''. Doucet was the brother of Fred Doucet, who served as

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political ...

's first Chief of Staff when he became leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party in 1983, and served on his staff in the

Prime Minister's Office Prime Minister's Office may refer to: * Prime Minister's Office (Albania) * Prime Minister's Office (Australia) * Prime Minister's Office (Bangladesh) * Prime Minister's Office (Brunei) * Office of the Prime Minister (Cambodia) * Office of the ...

while Mulroney was

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

from 1984 to 1993. His daughter Michelle Doucet is Assistant Superintendent, Corporate Services sector, at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI). Doucet died in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

on November 23, 2017.

References

Further reading