View source for Gilbert Parent

{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Honourable]]
| name                = Gilbert Parent
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}}
| image               = Gilbert Parent.jpg
| caption             = Parent in December 2000
| office              = 33rd [[Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada)|Speaker of the House of Commons]]
| term_start          = January 17, 1994
| term_end            = January 29, 2001
| predecessor         = [[John Allen Fraser]]
| successor           = [[Peter Milliken]]
| riding2             = [[Niagara Centre]]<br />{{small|([[Welland—St. Catharines—Thorold]]; 1988–1997)}}<br />{{small|([[Welland (electoral district)|Welland]]; 1979–1984)}}<br />{{small|([[St. Catharines (federal electoral district)|St. Catharines]]; 1974–1979)}}
| parliament2         = Canadian
| term_start2         = November 21, 1988
| term_end2           = November 27, 2000
| predecessor2        = [[Allan Pietz]]
| successor2          = [[Tony Tirabassi]]
| term_start3         = July 8, 1974
| term_end3           = September 4, 1984
| predecessor3        = [[Trevor Morgan (politician)|Trevor Morgan]]
| successor3          = Allan Pietz
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1935|07|25}}
| birth_place         = [[Mattawa, Ontario]], Canada
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2009|03|03|1935|07|25}}
| death_place         = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| party               = [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]]
| spouse              = Joan Parent (partner)<br />[[Sandra Page]]
| profession          = Teacher
| signature           = 
}}

'''Gilbert "Gib" Parent''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC}} (July 25, 1935 – March 3, 2009) was a [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|member of Parliament]]. He is best known in his role as [[Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada)|speaker of the House of Commons]] between 1994 and 2001.

Parent was born on July 25, 1935, in [[Mattawa, Ontario]], and his janitor father, a Mattawa-born [[Métis|Metis]], moved the young family to [[Welland]], Ontario. He went to [[Saint Joseph's College (Indiana)|St. Joseph's College]] on a football scholarship, and earned a teaching certificate from the [[Ontario Institute for Studies in Education|Ontario College of Education]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120224063557/http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1461863 Former MP Gib Parent 'loved his country']. ''[[St. Catharines Standard]]'', March 4, 2009.</ref>

Prior to his election to the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]], he worked as a [[teacher]] and was [[vice-principal]] at [[Thorold Secondary School]].

==Political career==
Parent was elected to Parliament six times as a member of the [[Liberal Party of Canada]]. He was first elected in the [[1974 Canadian federal election|1974 election]] representing the riding of [[St. Catharines (federal electoral district)|St. Catharines]].  He was re-elected in the [[1979 Canadian federal election|1979]], [[1980 Canadian federal election|1980]]. Parent was defeated in the [[1984 Canadian federal election|1984 election]] as [[Brian Mulroney]]'s [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative Party]] swept to power, but regained his seat four years later in [[1988 Canadian federal election|1988]], and was re-elected in the [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993]] and [[1997 Canadian federal election|1997 elections]].

His riding's name was subsequently changed to [[Welland (electoral district)|Welland]], then [[Welland—St. Catharines—Thorold]] and finally [[Niagara Centre]]. Under [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Pierre Trudeau]], Parent served, at different times between 1977 and 1981, as [[Parliamentary Secretary]] to the Minister of Veterans Affairs, to the Minister of Labour and to the [[Minister of State (Canada)|Minister of State]] (Sports).

Parent was first elected Speaker in January 1994. In the House, Parent was forced into the challenge of presiding over a five-party Parliament that resulted from the emergence of the [[Bloc Québécois]] and the [[Reform Party of Canada|Reform Party]]. Upon being re-elected to the position in September 1997, he told the ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' that he expected the different voices in Parliament, informed by strong opinions on all sides, would make the House the lively place it should be.

Parent died at [[Mount Sinai Hospital (Toronto)|Mount Sinai Hospital]] in [[Toronto]] at the age of 73 of [[pneumonia]] while recovering from [[colon cancer]] surgery.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://montrealgazette.com/Health/Former+House+Speaker+Parent+dead/1349292/story.html
|title=Former House Speaker Gib Parent dead at 73
|work=Montreal Gazette
|date=March 3, 2009
|access-date=2009-03-04
|archive-date=April 8, 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408034530/https://montrealgazette.com/Health/Former+House+Speaker+Parent+dead/1349292/story.html
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> He is survived by his brothers, Gerald Parent and [[Romeo Parent]], wife of 39 years, Joan Parent (née Davis), their 4 daughters, Michele (Dave) Hundertmark, Monique (John) Finley, Madeleine (Mark) Thomas, and Terri (Sandro) Perruzza and 13 grandchildren, and partner Sandra Page, 2 daughters and 1 grandchild.

==Electoral record==
{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1997}}
{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|'''PARENT, Gib'''| 24,115}}
{{CANelec|CA|Reform|JOHNSTONE, Don| 12,053}}
{{CANelec|CA|PC|ATKINSON, Joe|5,827}}
{{CANelec|CA|NDP|WILSON, James|  5,510}}
{{CANelec|CA|Christian Heritage|BYLSMA, David|515}}
{{CANelec|CA|Natural Law|LARRASS, Anne|  363}}
{{CANelec|CA|Marxist-Leninist|WALKER, Ron|143}}
{{end}}

{{Election box begin | title=[[1993 Canadian federal election]]}}
|-
{{Canadian party colour|CA|Liberal|row}}
|[[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]]
|PARENT, Gilbert
|align="right"|25,534
|53.97%
{{Canadian party colour|CA|Reform|row}}
|[[Reform Party of Canada|Reform]]
|JOHNSTONE, Don
|align="right"| 11,901
|25.15%
{{Canadian party colour|CA|Progressive Conservatives|row}}
|[[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]]
|ST. AMAND, Terry
|align="right"| 5,472
|11.56%
{{Canadian party colour|CA|NDP|row}}
|[[New Democratic Party (Canada)|New Democratic Party]]
|DOBRUCKI, Rob
|align="right"|3,737
|7.89%
{{Canadian party colour|CA|Natural Law|row}}
|[[Natural Law Party of Canada|Natural Law]]
|AMOS, Laureen
|align="right"|311
|0.66%
{{CANelec|CA |Green |FANNON, Jim |304 |0.64%}}
{{Canadian party colour|CA|Abolitionist|row}}
|[[Abolitionist Party of Canada|Abolitionist]]
|DOUCET, Leonard
|align="right"|64
|0.14%
{{end}}

{{Election box begin | title=[[1988 Canadian federal election]]}}
|-
{{Canadian party colour|CA|Liberal|row}}
|[[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]]
|PARENT, Gilbert
|align="right"|17,878
| 
{{Canadian party colour|CA|Progressive Conservatives|row}}
|[[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]]
|PIETZ, Allan
|align="right"|16,287
|
{{Canadian party colour|CA|NDP|row}}
|[[New Democratic Party (Canada)|New Democratic Party]]
|LEE, Ken
|align="right"|12,646
|
{{CANelec|CA |Green |THOMSON, Rachel |273}}
{{Canadian party colour|CA|Independents|row}}
|No affiliation
|WALKER, Ron
|align="right"|71
|
{{Canadian party colour|CA|Communist|row}}
|[[Communist Party of Canada|Communist]]
|WALLIS, David
|align="right"|57
|
{{end}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1984}}
{{CANelec|CA|PC|[[Allan Pietz]]|18,418}}
{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Gilbert Parent|14,481}}
{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Rob Dobrucki|10,508}}
{{CANelec|CA|Green|Andrew Rivett|284}}
{{CANelec|CA|Communist|John MacLennan|145}}
{{end}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1980}}
{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Gilbert Parent|18,112}}
{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Robert Wright|11,729}}
{{CANelec|CA|PC|George Krusell|11,292}}
{{CANelec|CA|Communist|John Severinsky|95}}
{{CANelec|CA|Marxist-Leninist|Ron Walker|78}}
{{end}}

{{1984 Canadian federal election/Welland}}
{{1980 Canadian federal election/Welland}}
{{1979 Canadian federal election/Welland}}

== Archives ==
There is a Gilbert Parent [[fonds]] at [[Library and Archives Canada]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gilbert Parent fonds, Library and Archives Canada|url=http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=212160&lang=eng|access-date=2020-09-18}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=14352}}

{{Speakers of the Canadian House of Commons}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parent, Gilbert}}
[[Category:Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario]]
[[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:Franco-Ontarian people]]
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Ontario]]
[[Category:People from Mattawa, Ontario]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs]]