James William Gouk (born April 15, 1946) is a Canadian politician. Born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Gouk began his political career out west as an alderman in Castlegar, British Columbia. Gouk would enter federal politics in 1993 when he was elected into the House of Commons of Canada. In the

1993 Canadian federal election The 1993 Canadian federal election was held on October 25, 1993, to elect members to the House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Considered to be a major political realignment, it was one of the most eventful elections in Canada's hist ...

he was elected in Kootenay West—Revelstoke with the

Reform Party of Canada The Reform Party of Canada (french: Parti réformiste du Canada) was a right-wing populist and conservative federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based prot ...

. In the

1997 Canadian federal election File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

he was elected out of the

West Kootenay—Okanagan British Columbia Southern Interior (formerly known as Southern Interior, Kootenay—Boundary—Okanagan and West Kootenay—Okanagan) was a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that had been represented in the ...

riding. In the

2000 Canadian federal election The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 37th Canadian Parliament, 37th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Pa ...

, Gouk was elected after joining the

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed u ...

from the Kootenay—Boundary—Okanagan riding. He was elected a fourth time in the

2004 Canadian federal election The 2004 Canadian federal election was held on June 28, 2004, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority but was able to continue ...

in the riding of Southern Interior, this time for the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...

. An

air traffic controller Air traffic control specialists, abbreviated ATCS, are personnel responsible for the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system. Usually stationed in air traffic control centers and control ...

, businessman and

realtor A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...

, he has been an opposition critic of Transport, Public Works and Government Services, Labour, and

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operati ...

before retiring from politics at the dissolution of parliament prior to the 2006 federal election.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gouk, Jim 1946 births Living people Canadian Alliance MPs Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia People from Castlegar, British Columbia Politicians from Toronto Reform Party of Canada MPs Air traffic controllers 21st-century Canadian politicians