Gilbert "Gib" Parent (July 25, 1935 – March 3, 2009) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

member of Parliament. He is best known in his role as speaker of the House of Commons between 1994 and 2001. Parent was born on July 25, 1935, in

Mattawa, Ontario Mattawa is a town in northeastern Ontario, Canada at the confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers in Nipissing District. The first Europeans to pass through this area were Étienne Brûlé and Samuel de Champlain. History In 1610, Étienne Br ...

, and his janitor father, a Mattawa-born Metis, moved the young family to

Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-on ...

, Ontario. He went to St. Joseph's College on a football scholarship, and earned a teaching certificate from the Ontario College of Education. Prior to his election to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

, he worked as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and was

vice-principal In larger school systems, a head teacher principal is often assisted by someone known as a vice-principal, deputy principal, or assistant/associate principal. Unlike the principal, the vice-principal does not have quite the decision-making author ...

at Thorold Secondary School.

Political career

Parent was elected to Parliament six times as a member of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

. He was first elected in the 1974 election representing the riding of

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

. He was re-elected in the

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

. Parent was defeated in the 1984 election as

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was 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 studi ...

's Progressive Conservative Party swept to power, but regained his seat four years later in 1988, and was re-elected in the

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and 1997 elections. His riding's name was subsequently changed to

, then Welland—St. Catharines—Thorold and finally Niagara Centre. Under

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

, 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 Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

(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 The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...

and the Reform Party. Upon being re-elected to the position in September 1997, he told the ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'' 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 Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

at the age of 73 of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

while recovering from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

surgery. 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

, - , Liberal , PARENT, Gilbert , align="right", 25,534 , 53.97% ,

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

, JOHNSTONE, Don , align="right", 11,901 , 25.15% , Progressive Conservative , ST. AMAND, Terry , align="right", 5,472 , 11.56% ,

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 ...

, DOBRUCKI, Rob , align="right", 3,737 , 7.89% ,

Natural Law Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...

, AMOS, Laureen , align="right", 311 , 0.66% ,

Abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

, DOUCET, Leonard , align="right", 64 , 0.14% , - , Liberal , PARENT, Gilbert , align="right", 17,878 , , Progressive Conservative , PIETZ, Allan , align="right", 16,287 , ,

, LEE, Ken , align="right", 12,646 , , No affiliation , WALKER, Ron , align="right", 71 , ,

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

, WALLIS, David , align="right", 57 ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parent, Gilbert Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Franco-Ontarian people 1935 births 2009 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Ontario People from Mattawa, Ontario 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs

Political career

Electoral record

Archives

References

External links