Robert Speller, (February 29, 1956 – December 16, 2021) was a Canadian politician. A member of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

, Speller was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

four times from 1988 to 2000. He was defeated in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

by a 20,938 to 19,277 margin.

Personal life

Speller was born in

Hagersville, Ontario Hagersville is a community in Haldimand County, Ontario in Canada. Location and airports *Hagersville is approximately southwest of Hamilton, Ontario, southwest of Caledonia, Ontario, and northeast of Port Dover, Ontario. *Hagersville's neares ...

on February 29, 1956. In 1983, he married Joan Mouland, with whom he had a son, Christopher, and a daughter, Victoria. He died on December 16, 2021, at the age of 65 at a care facility near

Waterford, Ontario Waterford is one of the Communities in Norfolk County, Ontario and had a population of 3,132 at the time of the 2016 Census. Antiques from different historical eras can be purchased from downtown antique stores. Norfolk FS (formerly known as the ...

, after an illness.

Career

Speller was first elected in the

1988 Canadian federal election The 1988 Canadian federal election was held on November 21, 1988, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada–United States Free Trade Ag ...

as a member of the Liberal Party, defeating incumbent Bud Bradley by only 209 votes.

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...

's Progressive Conservatives won the election, however, relegating Speller to opposition

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP). As an opposition MP, Speller was associate trade critic, youth critic and chair of the Liberal Rural Caucus. Speller was re-elected in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

and

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, as a member of the winning party.

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

's Liberals won three successive elections. Speller served on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (1994–1995), served on the Canadian Parliamentary Association International Executive Committee, served on the Parliamentary Steel Caucus (1993, 1994, 1998), served on the Joint Inter-Parliamentary Council, and was chair of the Sub-committee on Trade, Trade Disputes and Investment and the

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights. In 1989 the patron of the CPA was the Head of ...

(Canadian Branch). On December 12, 2003, incoming

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

named Speller the federal

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food The minister of agriculture and agri-food (french: ministre de l'agriculture et de l'agroalimentaire) is a minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada, who is responsible for overseeing several organizations including Agriculture and Agri-Foo ...

. Speller represented the constituency of

Haldimand—Norfolk—Brant Haldimand—Norfolk—Brant was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004. This riding was created in 1996 from parts of Elgin—Norfolk and Haldimand—Norfolk ...

until riding lines were redrawn prior to the June 2004 federal election. In his new riding of

Haldimand—Norfolk Haldimand—Norfolk is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1997, and since 2004. The current Member of Parliament (MP) is Conservative Leslyn Lewis. Geogr ...

, Speller lost the election to

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidate

Diane Finley Diane Finley (born October 3, 1957) is a former Canadian politician. From 2006 through 2015, she served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Her ministerial portfolios included Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, M ...

, and formally left cabinet the following July. In June 2005, Prime Minister Paul Martin asked Speller to consider running in the next federal election. Speller ran in the following general election, but was defeated again. Speller did not run in the 2008 federal election but ran again in the 2011 federal election.

References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Speller, Bob 1956 births 2021 deaths Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the 27th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Members of the United Church of Canada People from Norfolk County, Ontario