Gilles C. Bisson (born May 14, 1957) is a

Franco-Ontarian Franco-Ontarians ( or if female, sometimes known as ''Ontarois'' and ''Ontaroises'') are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2021, according to the Government of Ontario, ther ...

politician in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. He was a New Democratic member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

from

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

until his defeat in the

2022 Ontario general election The 2022 Ontario general election was held on June 2, 2022, to elect Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada), Members of the Provincial Parliament to serve in the 43rd Parliament of Ontario. The governing Progressive Conservative Party of Ont ...

. From 1999 to 2022 he represented the northern riding of

Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 at the 2021 Canadian census and an estimated population of ...

Background

Bisson is

. He was a

labour union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

organizer, who worked for the

Ontario Federation of Labour Ontario is the southernmost province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it is home to 38.5% of the country's population, and is the second-largest province by ...

(of which he was the Northeast Director for a time). A licensed private pilot, Bisson owns a small aircraft which he uses to fly between communities in his far-flung riding, the legislative seat in Toronto and elsewhere. Bisson was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets with #10 Timmins Kiwanis Squadron where he attained the rank of Flight Sergeant. He also served in both the Canadian Armed Forces "reg force" in 1974/1975 and as a reservist with the Algonquin Regiment B Company. Bisson is married, is a father of two daughters, and is a grandfather of four.

Politics

Bisson was elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1990, defeating Liberal Frank Krznaric by about 2,000 votes in the old riding of Cochrane South. He served as parliamentary assistant to the Ministers of Northern Development and Mines and Francophone Affairs in

Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...

's government, and also served as a member of the cabinet committee on the

North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...

in 1993. Although the NDP were defeated in the provincial election of 1995, Bisson significantly increased the margin of his victory in Cochrane South. He was, in fact, the only NDP candidate elected with more than 50% riding support in that cycle. He was easily re-elected in the 1999 election, and fought off a closer challenge from Liberal Michael Doody, a former mayor of Timmins and broadcaster, in the election of 2003. He was re-elected in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. Bisson's popularity has helped make Timmins—James Bay one of the top ridings in Ontario for the federal NDP as well, helping Charlie Angus pick up the seat in the 2004 election. On August 29, 2008, Bisson announced he would run to succeed Howard Hampton in the 2009 Ontario New Democratic Party leadership election. Bisson was defeated, finishing in third place behind first runner-up

Peter Tabuns Peter Charles Tabuns (born October 3, 1951) is a Canadian politician who served as the interim leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party and the Leader of the Official Opposition (Ontario), leader of the Official Opposition from 2022 to 2023. ...

and the victor,

Andrea Horwath Andrea Lynn Horwath (; born October 24, 1962) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 58th List of mayors of Hamilton, Ontario, mayor of Hamilton since 2022. Horwath served as the leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) from 200 ...

. From 2014 until 2022 he was the party's House Leader and was the NDP's critic for Natural Resources and Forestry issues. Bisson lost his seat to Progressive Conservative candidate George Pirie in the

Electoral record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bisson, Gilles 1957 births Canadian aviators Franco-Ontarian people Living people Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs Politicians from Timmins 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario