Gilbert Rondeau
Encyclopedia
Gilbert F. Rondeau was a Social Credit Party
and Ralliement créditiste
member of the Canadian House of Commons
. He was born in Sainte-Élisabeth-de-Warwick, Quebec
and became a businessman, industrialist and insurance agent.
at the Beauharnois
riding for the Union of Electors
party, but did not win the seat.
His next election campaign was in the 1962 federal election
where he won the Shefford riding
for the Social Credit Party. After re-election to a second term in the 1963 election
, Rondeau was defeated in 1965
by Liberal
candidate Louis-Paul Neveu
. Rondeau won the Shefford seat back in the following national election in 1968
, and was re-elected in 1972
and 1974
.
Being one of the few Social Credit politicians who was able to speak English
, Rondeau helped represent the predominantly francophone
party across Canada. But Rondeau's political career was ended by charges of Unemployment Insurance fraud for which he was convicted and sentenced to a five-month prison term. Because of these legal problems, he was ejected from the Social Credit Party in 1977 and was an independent member for the remainder of the 30th Canadian Parliament
. In the 1979 election
, Rondeau campaigned at Shefford as an independent but lost to Jean Lapierre
of the Liberals.
Rondeau died on 9 March 1994 because of complications arising from gallstone
removal surgery.
Social Credit Party of Canada
The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
and Ralliement créditiste
Ralliement créditiste
Historically in Quebec, Canada, there was a number of political parties that were part of the Canadian social credit movement. There were various parties at different times with different names at the provincial level, all broadly following the social credit philosophy; at various times they had...
member of 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...
. He was born in Sainte-Élisabeth-de-Warwick, Quebec
Sainte-Élisabeth-de-Warwick, Quebec
Sainte-Élisabeth-de-Warwick is a parish municipality in Quebec.The municipality is located in the Township of Warwick mainly in the western part of range IV. Sainte-Élisabeth-de-Warwick is a parish municipality in Quebec....
and became a businessman, industrialist and insurance agent.
Political career
Rondeau first campaigned in the 1949 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1949
The Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...
at the Beauharnois
Beauharnois (electoral district)
Beauharnois was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1935, from 1949 to 1953, and from 1968 to 1972....
riding for the Union of Electors
Ralliement créditiste
Historically in Quebec, Canada, there was a number of political parties that were part of the Canadian social credit movement. There were various parties at different times with different names at the provincial level, all broadly following the social credit philosophy; at various times they had...
party, but did not win the seat.
His next election campaign was in the 1962 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1962
The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 25th Parliament of Canada...
where he won the Shefford riding
Shefford (electoral district)
Shefford is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1867. Its population in 2006 was 100,000.-Demographics:Ethnic groups: 99.2% WhiteLanguages: 95.2% French, 3.2% English...
for the Social Credit Party. After re-election to a second term in the 1963 election
Canadian federal election, 1963
The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in...
, Rondeau was defeated in 1965
Canadian federal election, 1965
The Canadian federal election of 1965 was held on November 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 27th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was re-elected with a larger number of seats in the House...
by Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
candidate Louis-Paul Neveu
Louis-Paul Neveu
Louis-Paul Neveu was a Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was an insurance superintendent and life insurance agent by career....
. Rondeau won the Shefford seat back in the following national election in 1968
Canadian federal election, 1968
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...
, and was re-elected in 1972
Canadian federal election, 1972
The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive...
and 1974
Canadian federal election, 1974
The Canadian federal election of 1974 was held on July 8, 1974 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 30th Parliament of Canada. The governing Liberal Party won its first majority government since 1968, and gave Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau his third term...
.
Being one of the few Social Credit politicians who was able to speak English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Rondeau helped represent the predominantly francophone
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
party across Canada. But Rondeau's political career was ended by charges of Unemployment Insurance fraud for which he was convicted and sentenced to a five-month prison term. Because of these legal problems, he was ejected from the Social Credit Party in 1977 and was an independent member for the remainder of the 30th Canadian Parliament
30th Canadian Parliament
The 30th Canadian Parliament was in session from September 30, 1974 until March 26, 1979. The membership was set by the 1974 election on July 8, 1974, and was only changed somewhat due to resignations and by-elections before it was dissolved prior to the 1979 election.It was controlled by a...
. In the 1979 election
Canadian federal election, 1979
The Canadian federal election of 1979 was held on May 22, 1979 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 31st Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of Liberal Party of Canada after 11 years in power under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Joe Clark led the Progressive...
, Rondeau campaigned at Shefford as an independent but lost to Jean Lapierre
Jean Lapierre
Jean-Charles Lapierre, PC is a Canadian television broadcaster and a former federal politician.He was Paul Martin's Quebec lieutenant during the period of the Martin government. He returned to the Canadian House of Commons after an eleven year absence when he won a seat in the 2004 federal...
of the Liberals.
Rondeau died on 9 March 1994 because of complications arising from gallstone
Gallstone
A gallstone is a crystalline concretion formed within the gallbladder by accretion of bile components. These calculi are formed in the gallbladder, but may pass distally into other parts of the biliary tract such as the cystic duct, common bile duct, pancreatic duct, or the ampulla of...
removal surgery.