Gerry St. Germain, PC

Queen's Privy Council for Canada

The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...

 (born November 6, 1937) is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

.

St. Germain had various jobs prior to entering politics, working variously as a Royal Canadian Air Force

Royal Canadian Air Force

The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...

 pilot, police officer (Winnipeg and Vancouver Police Departments), building contractor, businessman and poultry farmer. Born in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, he moved to British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

.

A strong Tory supporter, St. Germain was parachuted as a Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

 into the Mission-Port Moody riding for the byelection there in 1983. St. Germain was elected to as a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 through a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 held on the same day in 1983 that Brian Mulroney

Brian Mulroney

Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...

 was elected.

St. Germain was Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for the now defunct riding of Mission-Port Moody from then until 1993. In March 1988, St. Germain joined the Canadian Cabinet (the first Métis

Métis people (Canada)

The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...

 to do so) as Minister of State

Minister of state (Canada)

A Minister of State is a junior cabinet minister in the Canadian Cabinet, usually given specific responsibilities to assist a senior cabinet minister in a specific area....

 for Transport and was later appointed as Minister of Forestry. He was also the Political Minister for BC at this time.

After his riding's boundaries were changed into the new riding of Mission-Coquitlam, St. Germain was defeated in the November 1988, General Election by Joy Langan. From 1989 to 1995, he was the President of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. In June 1993, he was appointed to the Canadian Senate

Canadian Senate

The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...

 just prior to Mulroney's retirement as Prime Minister of Canada

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

.

In 1998, while still a Progressive Conservative, St. Germain explored the United Alternative option

Unite the Right

The Unite the Right movement was a Canadian political movement which existed from around 1996 to 2003. The movement came into being when it became clear that neither of Canada's two main right-of-center political parties: the Reform Party of Canada or the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada...

, formed by Reform Party of Canada

Reform Party of Canada

The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....

 leader Preston Manning

Preston Manning

Ernest Preston Manning, CC is a Canadian politician. He was the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance...

, which was an attempt to unite the right. In June 2000 he sat as an Independent Conservative Senator and in October 2000 he became the only Canadian Alliance

Canadian Alliance

The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...

 Senator. Since the Canadian Alliance formed the Official Opposition

Official Opposition (Canada)

In Canada, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition...

 in the House of Commons, St. Germain argued that he should be the Leader of the Official Opposition in the Senate but his arguments were rejected by the Speaker

Speaker of the Canadian Senate

The Speaker of the Senate of Canada is the presiding officer of the Senate of Canada. The speaker represents the Senate at official functions, rules on questions of parliamentary procedure and parliamentary privilege, and oversee debates and voting in the red chamber. This position is often...

. At the request of Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper, St. Germain led the negotiations to unite the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party. When the two parties merged in December 2003, St. Germain then sat as Senator for the Conservative Party of Canada

Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

.

As Senator, St. Germain represents the Langley

Langley, British Columbia (city)

The City of Langley is a municipality in Metro Vancouver. It lies directly east of the City of Surrey, adjacent to Cloverdale, and surrounded on the north, east and south by Township of Langley.-History:...

-Pemberton

Pemberton, British Columbia

Pemberton is a village north of Whistler in the Pemberton Valley of British Columbia in Canada, with a population of 2,192. Until the 1960s the village could be accessed only by train but that changed when Highway 99 was built through Whistler and Pemberton.-Climate:The climate of Pemberton is...

-Whistler

Whistler, British Columbia

Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver...

 senatorial division. He is currently the senior Senator for British Columbia.

Cabinet and Caucus Positions

• Government Caucus Chairman
• Secretary of State / Minister of State
• Minister of State (Transport)
• Minister of State (Forestry)

Vice-Chair

• Standing Committee - Aboriginal Peoples 36th Parl., 2nd Session
• Sub Committee - Subcommittee on Forestry 36th Parl., 2nd Session
• Standing Committee - Aboriginal Peoples 38th Parl., 1st Session

Member

Standing Committee - Aboriginal Peoples 36th Parl., 1st Session
Standing Committee - Agriculture and Forestry 36th Parl., 1st Session
Standing Committee - Banking, Trade and Commerce 36th Parl., 1st Session
Standing Committee - Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources 36th Parl., 1st Session
Standing Committee - National Finance 36th Parl., 1st Session
Standing Committee - Aboriginal Peoples 36th Parl., 2nd Session
Standing Committee - Agriculture and Forestry 36th Parl., 2nd Session
Standing Committee - Banking, Trade and Commerce 36th Parl., 2nd Session
Standing Committee - Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources 36th Parl., 2nd Session
Sub Committee - Subcommittee on Aboriginal Economic Development in relation to Northern National Parks 36th Parl., 2nd Session
Sub Committee - Subcommittee on Forestry 36th Parl., 2nd Session
Standing Committee - Aboriginal Peoples 37th Parl., 1st Session
Standing Committee - Aboriginal Peoples 37th Parl., 2nd Session
Standing Committee - Aboriginal Peoples 37th Parl., 3rd Session
Standing Committee - Agriculture and Forestry 37th Parl., 3rd Session
Standing Committee - Aboriginal Peoples 38th Parl., 1st Session
Standing Committee - Agriculture and Forestry 38th Parl., 1st Session
Standing Committee - Banking, Trade and Commerce 38th Parl., 1st Session
Standing Committee - Fisheries and Oceans 38th Parl., 1st Session
Standing Committee - Legal and Constitutional Affairs 38th Parl., 1st Session
Standing Committee - Official Languages 38th Parl., 1st Session

Member

Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access 36th Parl., 1st Session

External links

• Gerry St. Germain's Home Page