View source for Leonard Marchand

{{Short description|Canadian politician (1933–2016)}}
{{about||his son, the judge|Leonard Marchand Jr.}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Honourable]]
| name                = Leonard Marchand
| honorific-suffix    = {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|CM|OBC|size=100%}}
| image               = 
| office              = [[Minister of the Environment (Canada)|Minister of the Environment]]
| primeminister       = [[Pierre Trudeau]]
| term_start          = April 2, 1979
| term_end            = June 3, 1979
| predecessor         = [[Roméo LeBlanc]]
| successor           = [[John Allen Fraser]]
| office1             = [[Senate of Canada|Senator]] for Kamloops-Cariboo, British Columbia
| appointed1          = Pierre Trudeau
| term_start1         = June 29, 1984
| term_end1           = March 1, 1998
| riding2             = [[Kamloops–Cariboo]]
| parliament2         = Canadian
| term_start2         = June 25, 1968
| term_end2           = May 21, 1979
| predecessor2        = ''Riding created''
| successor2          = ''Riding dissolved''
| birth_name          = Leonard Stephen Marchand
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1933|11|16|mf=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Vernon, British Columbia|Vernon]], [[British Columbia]], Canada
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2016|6|3|1933|11|16|mf=y}}
| death_place         = [[Kamloops]], British Columbia, Canada
| nationality         = 
| spouse              = {{marriage|Donna Parr|1960}}
| party               = [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]]
| relations           = 
| children            = 2
| residence           = 
| alma_mater          = {{plainlist|
* [[University of British Columbia]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])
* [[University of Idaho]] ([[Master of Science|MS]])
}}
| occupation          = 
| profession          = [[Agricultural scientist]]
| religion            = 
}}

'''Leonard Stephen "Len" Marchand''' {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|CM|OBC|size=100%}} (November 16, 1933 – June 3, 2016) was a Canadian politician.  He was the first person of [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] status to serve in the [[Canadian Cabinet|federal cabinet]], after being the first [[Status Indian]] elected and serving as a [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]]. He served as Parliamentary Secretary, Minister of State, Minister of the Environment and Senator.
<ref name="marchand">[http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/06/07/len-marchand-first-status-indian-elected-canadian-parliament-walks-164701 ICTMN Staff, "Len Marchand, First Status Indian Elected to Canadian Parliament, Walks On"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026135356/http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/06/07/len-marchand-first-status-indian-elected-canadian-parliament-walks-164701 |date=2016-10-26 }}, ''Indian Country Today'' Media Network, 7 June 2016</ref>

==Early life==
Marchand was born in [[Vernon, British Columbia]] on November 16, 1933.<ref name="EVNProfile" /> A member of the [[Okanagan Indian Band]], he attended school at the [[Okanagan Indian Day School]], the [[Kamloops Indian Residential School]] and Vernon high school.<ref name="Williams">{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Bryce |title=Kamloops: 23-Year Fulton Empire Shaky? |work=The Vancouver Sun |date=20 June 1968 |page=6}}</ref> He went on to graduate from the [[University of British Columbia]] in 1959 with a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture.<ref name="Williams" /> In 1964 Marchand later completed a master's degree in range management from the [[University of Idaho]].<ref name="EVNProfile">{{cite news |title=Profile of Federal Candidates Kamlooos-Shuswap Riding |work=Eagle Valley News |date=18 April 1979 |page=18}}</ref> After pursuing a career as an [[agronomist]], he left the field in the mid-1960s to work with the North American Indian Brotherhood. His work in native affairs took him to [[Ottawa]] to lobby on Aboriginal issues. He was hired as a special assistant to two successive Cabinet ministers.

==Career==
Marchand entered politics and was elected to the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] in the [[1968 Canadian federal election|1968 election]] as a [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]] candidate for the [[British Columbia]] [[electoral district (Canada)|riding]] of Kamloops-Cariboo. He defeated high-profile [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]] candidate [[E. Davie Fulton]]. He was the first [[Status Indian]] to be elected as an MP.

He became [[parliamentary secretary]] to [[Jean Chrétien]], who was the [[Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]], helping persuade [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Pierre Trudeau]] to begin land settlement negotiations between the federal government and the [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]].

In 1976, Marchand was appointed to the Cabinet as [[Minister of State (Canada)|Minister of State]] for small business. He was the first Status Indian to be appointed to a cabinet position. In 1977, he was promoted to [[Minister of the Environment (Canada)|Minister of the Environment]], and held the post until his and the government's defeat in the [[1979 Canadian federal election|1979 election]].

Marchand returned to British Columbia where he became administrator for the Nicola Valley Indian Administration. In 1984, he was appointed to the [[Senate of Canada|Senate]], the second First Nations Canadian to be appointed (the first was officially [[James Gladstone]], but in reality was [[Guy Williams (politician)|Guy Williams]]). Marchand persuaded the Upper House to establish the Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, on which he served as chairman.

Marchand retired from the Senate in 1998 at the age of 64, eleven years ahead of the mandatory retirement age, in order to spend more time in British Columbia. He died on June 3, 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/len-marchand-sr-former-mp-and-senator-has-died/ |title=Len Marchand Sr., former MP and senator, has died - Kamloops This Week |access-date=2016-06-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910164311/http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/len-marchand-sr-former-mp-and-senator-has-died/ |archive-date=2016-09-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Member of Parliament [[Robert Falcon Ouellette]] gave a tribute to Len Marchand in the House of Commons on June 9, 2016.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://openparliament.ca/debates/2016/6/6/robert-falcon-ouellette-1/ | title=Robert-Falcon Ouellette, "Len Marchand" on June 6th, 2016 &#124; openparliament.ca }}</ref>

== Family ==
Marchand is the father of [[Leonard Marchand Jr.]], the Chief Justice of British Columbia and Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of Yukon, and [[Lori Marchand]], the Managing Director of Indigenous Theatre at the [[National Arts Centre]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-08 |title=Prime Minister announces appointment of new Chief Justice of British Columbia |url=http://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2023/12/08/prime-minister-announces-appointment-new-chief-justice-british |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=Prime Minister of Canada |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-02-07|title=Q&A: Lori Marchand, Managing Director, Indigenous Theatre|url=https://nac-cna.ca/en/stories/story/qa-lori-marchand-managing-director-indigenous-theatre/|website=National Arts Centre|language=en}}</ref>

==Legacy and honours==
*In 1999, he was made a Member of the [[Order of Canada]].
*In 2000, Caitlin Press published his autobiography, ''Breaking Trail.''
*In 2014, Marchand received the [[Order of British Columbia]].<ref>[https://www.webcitation.org/6PxxVCWA8?url=http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/news/261086411.html Okanagan band member receives Order of B.C.]</ref>

<div class="center">
<br />
[[File:CAN Order of Canada Member ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:Order British Columbia ribbon bar.svg|100px]]
<br />
[[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:125canada ribbon.png|100px]]
[[File:Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.png|100px]]
[[File:QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
</div>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|- style="background:silver;" align="center"
|Ribbon || Description || Notes
|-
|[[File:CAN Order of Canada Member ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[Order of Canada]] (CM) || 
* Member
* 1999
|-
|[[File:Order British Columbia ribbon bar.svg|40px]] || [[Order of British Columbia]] (OBC) ||
* Member
* 2014
*<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.orderofbc.gov.bc.ca/2014-recipient-the-honourable-leonard-marchand-kamloops/|title = 2014 Recipient: The Honourable Leonard Marchand – Kamloops : Order of BC}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal]] ||
* 1977
* Canadian Version of this Medal
|-
|[[File:125canada ribbon.png|40px]] || [[125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal]] ||
* 1992
|-
|[[File:Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.png|40px]] || [[Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal]] ||
* 2002
* Canadian Version of this Medal 
|-
|[[File:QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal]] ||
* 2012
* Canadian version of this Medal
|-
|}

* Marchand was sworn in as a Member of the [[Queen's Privy Council for Canada]] on September 15, 1976, giving him the accordant [[Style (manner of address)|style]] "[[The Honourable]]" and the [[List of post-nominal letters in Canada|post-nominal letters]] "PC" for life.
* In 1999, Marchand was given the [[honorary degree]] of [[Doctor of Laws]] from [[Thompson Rivers University]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tru.ca/convocation/history/honorary-degree/1999.html#marchand|title = 1999 Honorary Degree Recipients, Thompson Rivers University}}</ref>

==Election results==
{{1968 Canadian federal election/Kamloops—Cariboo}}
{{1972 Canadian federal election/Kamloops—Cariboo}}
{{1974 Canadian federal election/Kamloops—Cariboo}}

== Archives ==
There is a Leonard Marchand [[fonds]] at [[Library and Archives Canada]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=20 July 2017|title=Leonard Marchand fonds, Library and Archives Canada|url=http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=4594105&lang=eng|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=September 18, 2020|website=}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071029171506/http://www.elections.ca/eca/eim/article_search/article.asp?id=97&lang=e&frmPageSize=&textonly=false Leonard Marchand: The first Status Indian elected to Canada's Parliament]
* {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=2079}}
*[https://www.amazon.ca/dp/092057680X Amazon.ca listing of "Breaking Trail.]

{{CA-Ministers of the Environment}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marchand, Leonard}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian senators from British Columbia]]
[[Category:First Nations politicians]]
[[Category:Indigenous Canadian senators]]
[[Category:Indigenous Members of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:Indspire Awards]]
[[Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs]]
[[Category:Liberal Party of Canada senators]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia]]
[[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of British Columbia]]
[[Category:People from Vernon, British Columbia]]
[[Category:Syilx people]]
[[Category:University of British Columbia alumni]]
[[Category:University of Idaho alumni]]
[[Category:Ministers of the environment of Canada]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Senate of Canada]]