Sam Elkas (born March 31, 1938) is a former

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

politician, who represented the electoral district of

Robert-Baldwin Robert-Baldwin is a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It includes a portion of the Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough of Montreal as well as the city of Dollar ...

in the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

from 1989 to 1994.Graeme Hamilton, "Elkas survives scare from Equality Party; Kirkland mayor repeats pledge to work from within Liberal government". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', September 26, 1989. Prior to his election to the legislature, Elkas worked as a manager and executive for

Bell Canada Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in t ...

, and served from 1975 to 1989 as mayor of Kirkland. During his provincial election campaign, he faced a minor controversy when his campaign team released a poorly-translated English campaign brochure, but he won the seat in the

1989 Quebec general election The 1989 Quebec general election was held on September 25, 1989, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Premier Robert Bourassa, won re-election, defeating the Par ...

over challenger Adrian Waller of the Equality Party. Premier

Robert Bourassa Robert Bourassa (; July 14, 1933 – October 2, 1996) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd premier of Quebec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Liberal Party of Quebec, he served a total of just ...

named Elkas to the

Executive Council of Quebec The Executive Council of Quebec (in French, ''le Conseil exécutif du Québec'', but informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Quebec and in French: ''le Conseil des ministres'') is the cabinet of the government of Quebec, Canada. Usually made u ...

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

and Minister of Public Security on October 11, 1989. He faced some criticism for his handling of the summer 1990

Oka Crisis The Oka Crisis (french: links=no, Crise d'Oka), also known as the Kanehsatà:ke Resistance (), was a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada, which began on July 11, 1990, and lasted 78 days until Septe ...

, and was shuffled out of the public security role in October 1990, but retained the transport post until January 1994, when he was dropped from cabinet after Daniel Johnson succeeded Bourassa as premier. He did not run for re-election in the

1994 Quebec general election The 1994 Quebec general election was held on September 12, 1994, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec. The Parti Québécois, led by Jacques Parizeau, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Premier Daniel Johnson Jr. ...

."Ex-Cabinet Minister Sam Elkas says he's leaving politics".

Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

, Juny 20, 1994. He subsequently served on the governing board of

Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, George Mountain, who ...

, and the administrative council of the

Port of Montreal The Port of Montreal (french: Port de Montréal) ( ACI Canadian Port Code: 0395, UN/LOCODE: CA MTR) is a cruise and transshipment point located on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, Québec, Canada. The port operates as an international contai ...

References

1938 births Living people Quebec Liberal Party MNAs People from Sherbrooke Canadian people of Syrian descent Members of the Executive Council of Quebec Mayors of places in Quebec People from Kirkland, Quebec {{Quebec-MNA-stub