Jean Pigott
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Jean Elizabeth Morrison Pigott (May 20, 1924 – January 10, 2012) was a Canadian politician and businesswoman. She served as the member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Ottawa—Carleton from 1976 to 1979 as a member of the
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; ) was a Centrism, centre to centre-right List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 unti ...
. She later served as chair of the
National Capital Commission The National Capital Commission (NCC; , CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), including administering most lands and build ...
(NCC) from 1985 to 1992.


Early life and career

Pigott was born in Ottawa on May 20, 1924, the eldest of three children born to Cecil Morrison and Margaret Cotter. The daughter of Ottawa businessman George Morrison, Pigott's family has lived in the Ottawa Valley for four generations. She attended Ottawa Ladies' College and studied at Belleville's Albert College for a year, before joining the office staff at her family's business, Morrison Lamothe Bakery. In 1948, she hired Arthur Pigott, an accountant, to serve as her assistant manager. The two married in 1955 and Pigott left her job at the bakery. They had three children between 1957 and 1963. By the 1960s, Morrison Lamothe had expanded into 30 shops and restaurants and a 1,000-employee workforce, but it was struggling financially due to a bread
price war A price war is a form of market competition in which companies within an industry engage in aggressive pricing activity "characterized by the repeated cutting of prices below those of competitors". This leads to a cycle, where each competitor att ...
and the opening of a new, $5 million plant in Ottawa's east end. In 1966, Pigott rejoined the company and became its president and CEO. She closed the new factory, returning operations to their abandoned factory which was scheduled to be demolished, laid off 600 staff, sold off several subsidiaries, and persuaded creditors to freeze the company's overdue accounts. Within a year, the company turned its first profit in five years and expanded into frozen foods. In 1972, Pigott became the first woman to sit on the
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
of
Ontario Hydro Ontario Hydro, established in 1906 as the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, was a publicly owned electricity utility in the Province of Ontario. It was formed to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity ge ...
. In 1973, she joined Ontario Premier
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. Behind Oliver Mowat, Davis was the List of premiers of Ontario by time in office, second-longes ...
as part of a trade delegation to the United Kingdom.


Member of Parliament

Pigott entered politics in 1976 after
John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the Opposit ...
resigned, leaving his Ottawa—Carleton seat vacant. She won the Progressive Conservative (PC) nomination for the ensuing
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
, beating out former Ontario cabinet minister
Bert Lawrence Albert Benjamin Rutter "Bert" Lawrence MC (March 31, 1923 – March 28, 2007) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1974 who represented the riding ...
. She won the by-election and became a member of Parliament in the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...
. Pigott was one of only two women in the party's 96-member caucus, alongside
Flora MacDonald Flora MacDonald (1722 – 5 March 1790) is best known for helping Charles Edward Stuart evade government troops after the Battle of Culloden in April 1746. Her family had generally backed the government during the 1745 Rising, and MacDonald l ...
. PC leader
Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the ...
appointed her critic for housing and issues related to the National Capital Region. In the 1979 federal election, she lost her seat to
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
candidate Jean-Luc Pépin even though the Progressive Conservative Party made enough gains elsewhere in the country to form a
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
. The new
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 ...
,
Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the ...
, hired Pigott as an advisor. In the 1980 federal election, she was the PC candidate in Ottawa Centre, where she placed second to Liberal candidate John Evans. She did not run in the 1984 federal election, though she actively campaigned for several Ottawa-area PC candidates.


Post-political career

After her defeat, Pigott set up a communications consulting firm and returned to Morrison Lamothe as chairman of the board. Following the Progressive Conservative Party's return to power under
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 ...
in the 1984 federal election, Pigott was appointed by Mulroney as chair of the
National Capital Commission The National Capital Commission (NCC; , CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), including administering most lands and build ...
(NCC). She served the role from 1985 to 1992. Her tenure saw the introduction of user fees on parking at
Gatineau Park Gatineau Park () is a federal park located in the Outaouais, Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. Administered by the National Capital Commission as part of the National Capital Region (Canada), National Capital Region, Gatineau Park is a wedge ...
and cross-country ski trails to offset budget cuts to the NCC. In 1993, Ontario Premier
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 ...
appointed Pigott chair of the board of the Ottawa Congress Centre.


Later life and death

Pigott received heart surgery during the 1970s and recovered from two
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
s during her late seventies. She died on January 10, 2012, at Grace Manor in Ottawa, the same building where she was born.


Awards and recognition

In 1967, Pigott was awarded the Governor General's Centennial Medal. In 1979, Pigott became the first female member of the Rideau Club in its 114-year history. In 1995, Pigott was made an Officer of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...
for having "shown leadership and determination in ensuring the use of resources for positive growth and change at all levels of government". In 2004, Pigott was awarded the Key to the City by the City of Ottawa. Jean Pigott Hall at Ottawa City Hall is named for her.


Archives

There is a Jean Pigott
fonds In archival science, a fonds (plural also ''fonds'') is a group of documents that share the same origin and have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organization. An example of a fonds could be ...
at
Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...
. Archival reference number is R12715.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pigott, Jean 1924 births 2012 deaths Businesspeople from Ottawa Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Officers of the Order of Canada Politicians from Ottawa Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Women in Ontario politics Women members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century Canadian women politicians