Evelyn Adelaide Gigantes (born 1 November 1942)
is a former
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. She served as a
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
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member of the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...
on three occasions between 1975 and 1995, and was a prominent
cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, â ...
in the government of
Bob Rae
Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...
.
Background
Gigantes was born in
Yarmouth,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
and raised in
Aylmer, Quebec
Aylmer is a former city in Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Ottawa River and along Route 148. In January 2002, it amalgamated into the city of Gatineau, which is part of Canada's National Capital Region. Aylmer's popul ...
. Her father, Earle Peach, was an author who wrote a book called "Memories of a Cape Breton childhood". She earned a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...
.
She worked as a radio and television broadcaster before entering political life, and was for a time an interviewer with the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
, and host of her own current affairs show in Ottawa. During her time out of political office, she was a member of a City of
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
Municipal Energy Planning Project, and served as a representative on women's issues for the National Union of Provincial Government Employees. Gigantes has a daughter, Clea, from a first marriage and a son, Matthew, with her second husband, John Sifton.
Politics
Carleton East
Gigantes ran for the Ontario legislature in a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
held on 7 November 1974. She was defeated by
Progressive Conservative Paul Frederick Taylor in the Ottawa area riding of
Carleton East
Carleton East was an electoral Riding (division), riding in Ontario, Canada. It was created for the 1967 election and was abolished in 1999 into Carleton—Gloucester and Ottawa—Vanier (provincial electoral district), Ottawa—Vanier.
From 1986 ...
, losing by 240 votes. The following year, however, she defeated Taylor by 281 votes in the
provincial election of 1975. During her first term she was the NDP's critic for energy and later, education.
In the
provincial election of 1977 Gigantes was re-elected over Progressive Conservative Darwin Kealey by 781 votes. In the summer of 1980, Gigantes gave birth to her first child. The birth was a first for an Ontario MPP. She said the baby was conceived during an NDP convention the previous fall. She quipped, "It was one of the most positive products of the convention."
In the
1981 provincial election she finished third behind both
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
Bernard Grandmaitre and the winner, Progressive Conservative
Bob MacQuarrie.
Ottawa Centre
Gigantes returned to the legislature through a by-election win in
Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre (french: Ottawa-Centre) is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. While the riding's boundaries (mainly to the south and west as the north a ...
on 13 December 1984, called after Cassidy resigned as MPP. She defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Graham Bird by 1,878 votes. The Liberal candidate, radio call-in show host
Lowell Green came in third. Gigantes was re-elected over Bird by an increased margin in the
1985 provincial election.
After the
1985 election, the Liberal Party under
David Peterson
David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty.
Backgro ...
was able to form a minority administration with support from the NDP (which did not join the Liberals in a formal coalition, but offered support on key legislative initiatives). Gigantes served as her party's critic for the Attorney General and for Women's Issues in this period. In November 1986, Gigantes proposed a gay rights amendment to a bill that sought to bring Ontario statutes into line with the new
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...
. Her amendment proposed to protect gays from being discriminated against based on their sexual orientation. The bill, including her contentious amendment, was passed a month later by a vote of 64–45. At the same time during debate on another bill about pay equity, Gigantes was expelled from the legislature for calling Attorney General
Ian Scott a liar.
The Liberals won a majority government in the
1987 provincial election, and Gigantes lost her seat to Liberal
Richard Patten
Richard Andrew Patten (May 13, 1942 – December 30, 2021) was a Canadian politician. Patten was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1990 and again from 1995 to 2007. He represented the riding of Ottawa Centre. ...
by 1,087 votes. Between 1987 and 1990 she worked as a union representative for the ''National Union of Provincial Government Employees''.
In government
The NDP won a majority government under
Bob Rae
Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...
in the
1990 provincial election, and Gigantes, once again campaigning in Ottawa Centre, defeated Patten by almost 3,000 votes. Gigantes remarked during the election campaign that the Liberals, who were widely seen as leading in the polls, were not in control of events. She said, "The election call has triggered a very cold look at the record of this government and people don't like what they see."
As a result of her legislative experience, she was appointed to Rae's first cabinet as
Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental health.
Coun ...
on October 1, 1990. In June 1990, the federal government narrowly passed bill C-43 that would have placed restrictions on doctors who performed
abortions. In response to the bill, many Ontario doctors decided to stop performing abortions altogether. In November 1990, Gigantes announced that the province would set up fully funded free-standing
abortion clinics to ensure that abortion services remained available. In January 1991, Gigantes and fellow cabinet minister
Anne Swarbrick
Anne Swarbrick (born ) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995 who represented the Toronto riding of Scarborough West. She served as a cabinet ...
led a delegation that appeared before the legal affairs committee of the
Senate of Canada
The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The Senate is modelled after the B ...
that was discussing the bill. Eventually the bill was defeated on a tie vote in the Senate and the federal government never reintroduced the legislation.
On April 19, 1991, Gigantes resigned from cabinet after inadvertently revealing the name of a Toronto man who had been sent to the United States for drug treatment that wasn't offered in the province. Three months later, she was reinstated to cabinet as
Minister of Housing.
During her time as housing minister, Gigantes proposed that apartments within houses, referred to as "granny-flats", would be legalized and protected. The legislation eventually called the "Residents' Rights Act" was passed into law in the summer of 1994. The bill removed the ability of municipalities to ban so-called basement apartments and sought to improve the safety of tenants by giving them the ability to complain about landlords. In August 1994, Gigantes resigned from cabinet when she was found in breach of conflict-of-interest guidelines. Gigantes resigned because she allegedly pressured an Ottawa tenant to drop charges against the board members of her public housing project. The committee found that the breach was minor but had "the potential to diminish the public's trust."
The NDP were defeated in the
1995 provincial election, and Gigantes again lost the Ottawa Centre riding to Richard Patten by over 1,500 votes.
Cabinet posts
Later life
In 2004, she co-chaired a candidate search committee for the federal
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gigantes, Evelyn
1942 births
Canadian radio personalities
Women government ministers of Canada
Carleton University alumni
Living people
Members of the Executive Council of Ontario
Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs
Politicians from Ottawa
People from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Women MPPs in Ontario