Search for "liberal"

Eric William Kierans, OC, economist, politician, businessman (born 2 February 1914 in Montreal, Quebec; died 10 May 2004 in Montreal). Educated at Loyola College and McGill University, Kierans was director of the School of Commerce at McGill 1953–60, president of the Montreal Stock Exchange 1960–63 and then minister of communications and postmaster general of Canada 1968–71. He served in two governments — Jean Lesage's  Quiet Revolution (in which he served as minister of revenue 1963–65 and as minister of health 1965–66) and Pierre Trudeau's first Cabinet.

Daniel Joseph Greene, lawyer, politician, Liberal prime minister of Nfld 1894-95 (b at St John's 1850; d there 12 Dec 1911). He became prime minister of Newfoundland 13 Dec 1894 in the wake of the legal and political turmoil surrounding the 1893 elections.

Hiram Blanchard, lawyer, politician, premier of Nova Scotia (b at West River, NS 17 Jan 1820; d at Halifax 17 Dec 1874). Blanchard began his legal career at Port Hood, moving to Halifax only after election as Reform (Liberal) member for Inverness County in 1859.

John Walter Jones, farmer, politician, premier of PEI (b at Pownal, PEI 14 Apr 1878; d at Ottawa 31 Mar 1954). An unsuccessful Progressive candidate in the federal election of 1921, Jones was first elected to the provincial legislature as a Liberal in 1935.

Harry Corwin Nixon, politician, premier of Ontario (b at St George, Ont 1 Apr 1891; d there 22 Oct 1961). He won acclaim for his political longevity, spending 42 years as an Ontario MPP.

Robert John Parsons, journalist, politician (b at Harbour Grace, Nfld, c 1802; d at St John's 20 June 1883). With William Carson and other Newfoundland Liberals, he founded the weekly Newfoundland Patriot in 1833 and became its sole owner and editor (1840).

Pierre Elliott Trudeau, PC, CC, CH, FRSC, prime minister of Canada 1968–79 and 1980–84, politician, writer, constitutional lawyer (born 18 October 1919 in Montreal, QC; died 28 September 2000 in Montreal). A charismatic and controversial figure, Pierre Trudeau was arguably Canada’s best-known politician, both at home and abroad. He introduced legal reforms in his quest to make Canada a more “just society,” and made Canada officially bilingual with the Official Languages Act of 1969. He negotiated Canada’s constitutional independence from Britain and established a new Canadian Constitution with an entrenched Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He played an important role in defeating the Quebec separatist movement of the 1970s and 1980s; although his decision to invoke the War Measures Act in response to the 1970 October Crisis drew sharp criticism. His federalist stance as well as his language and economic policies alienated many in Canada; particularly in the West. His eldest son, Justin Trudeau, became leader of the Liberal Party in 2013 and prime minister in 2015.

François Legault, businessman, politician and premier of Quebec (born 26 May 1957 in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec). Co-founder of Air Transat, François Legault was a minister in the Parti Québécois governments of Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry. As leader of the Coalition avenir Québec, a political party he founded in 2011, he was elected premier of Quebec on 1 October 2018.

Alfonso Gagliano, politician (born 1942 in Italy; died 12 December 2020). Alfonso Gagliano was the Member of Parliament for the Montreal neighbourhood of Saint-Leonard from 1984 until 2002. Following the 1997 election, he served as Minister of Public Works and Government Services in the cabinet of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. He was also chair of the electoral commission of the Liberal Party in Quebec. Gagliano resigned from cabinet and the House of Commons to accept a position as ambassador to Denmark. He was fired by Prime Minister Paul Martin in 2004 for his role in the sponsorship scandal.

Donald Campbell Jamieson, broadcaster, politician, diplomat (b at St John's 30 Apr 1921; d at Swift Current, Nfld 19 Nov 1986).

Félix-Gabriel Marchand, lawyer, journalist, playwright, premier of Québec 1897-1900 (b at St-Jean, LC 9 Jan 1832; d at Québec City 25 Sept 1900).

Farquhar Robert Oliver, farmer, politician (b at Priceville, Ont 6 Mar 1904; d at Owen Sound, Ont 22 Jan 1989). First elected to the Ontario Legislature in 1926 as a member of the United Farmers, he was re-elected continuously until his retirement in 1967.

John Hart, financier, politician, premier of BC 1941-47 (b at Mohill, Ire 31 Mar 1879; d at Victoria 7 Apr 1957). Arriving in Victoria in 1898, Hart worked in a financial firm before founding his own business, Gillespie, Hart and Co, in 1909.

Oscar Douglas Skelton, academic, public servant (b at Orangeville, Ont 13 July 1878; d at Ottawa 28 Jan 1941). After a brilliant student career in classics at Queen's, Skelton graduated in 1908 from the U of Chicago with a PhD in

Justin Pierre James Trudeau, PC, 23rd prime minister of Canada 2015–present, teacher, public issues advocate (born 25 December 1971 in Ottawa, ON). The son of Pierre Trudeau, the former prime minister, Justin has repeatedly defied expectations. In 2007, he won the Liberal nomination in the Montréal riding of Papineau, beating the establishment’s candidate. A year later, he was elected to the House of Commons, confounding pundits who insisted the Trudeau name was political poison among francophone voters. After winning the Liberal Party leadership in 2013, Trudeau propelled the party from third place to first in the House, becoming prime minister at the head of a majority government in 2015. Although Trudeau’s Liberals lost support in the 2019 election, they won enough seats to form a minority government.

John Edward Broadbent, academic, politician, leader of the New Democratic Party 1975-1989 (born 21 March 1936 in Oshawa, ON).

Alexa Ann McDonough (née Shaw), OC, ONS, social worker, former Nova Scotia New Democratic Party leader, federal NDP leader (born 11 August 1944 in Ottawa, ON; died 15 January 2022 in Halifax, NS). A former Halifax social worker, Alexa McDonough became the first woman to lead a major political party in Canada when she was elected leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1980. She served as leader until 1994 and also led the federal NDP from 1995 until 2003. She was the Member of Parliament for Halifax from 1997 to 2008. In 2009, she served as interim president of Mount Saint Vincent University and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Robert Henry Winters, politician, businessman (b at Lunenburg, NS 18 Aug 1910; d at Monterey, Calif 10 Oct 1969). Educated at Mt Allison U and Massachusetts Inst of Technology, Winters joined Northern Electric in Montréal in 1934. He became a lt-col in the army in WWII.

Byron Ingemar Johnson, "Boss," businessman, politician, premier of BC 1947-52 (b at Victoria 10 Dec 1890; d there 12 Jan 1964). After service in WWI, Johnson and his brothers formed a building supply company in Victoria. Elected as a Liberal in Victoria in 1933, he was defeated in 1937.