Gildas Laurent Molgat, CD (January 25, 1927 – February 28, 2001) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
politician. He served as leader of the
Manitoba Liberal Party
The Manitoba Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral du Manitoba) is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late 19th century, following the province's creation in 1870.
Origins and early development (to 1883)
Origina ...
from 1961 to 1969, and was subsequently appointed to the Senate of Canada, where he served as
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
from 1994 until 2001. He died shortly thereafter.
The son of Louis F. Molgat and Adele Abraham, Molgat was born in Ste. Rose du Lac,
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Winn ...
. He was educated at Ste. Rose School and the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba. He worked as a manager for Bethel-Rennie Ltd. United Stores and Advance Credit Corporation, and served as an army captain in the
Royal Winnipeg Rifles
The Royal Winnipeg Rifles (R Wpg Rif) are a Primary Reserve one-battalion infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Nicknamed the "Little Black Devils", they are based at Minto Armoury in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Royal Winnipeg Rifles are part of 3r ...
. He was married to Allison Malcolm.
Molgat was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in 1953, in the francophone riding of Ste. Rose. He was a
Liberal-Progressive
Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1925 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics, there was no Liberal-Progressive party: it was an alliance between two parties. In Manitoba, a party existe ...
, and a supporter of Premier
Douglas Lloyd Campbell
Douglas Lloyd Campbell (May 27, 1895 – April 23, 1995) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as the 13th premier of Manitoba from 1948 to 1958. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for 47 years, longer than a ...
.
The Liberal-Progressives lost the election of 1958, though Molgat was easily re-elected over his Progressive Conservative opponent. This was partly the result of historical francophone voting patterns in the province—most Franco-Manitobans supported the
Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to:
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* Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus
* Dominica Progressive Party
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* Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...
of
John Bracken
John Bracken (June 22, 1883 – March 18, 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–19 ...
in the 1920s, and continued to support the party after it merged with the Liberals in 1932. Although
Dufferin Roblin
Dufferin "Duff" Roblin, (June 17, 1917 – May 30, 2010) was a Canadian businessman and politician. He served as the 14th premier of Manitoba from 1958 to 1967. Roblin was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Pierre ...
's Tories made several gains in 1958, the province's francophone ridings continued to elect Liberal-Progressive MLAs.
Molgat was re-elected in 1959, again by a significant margin. When Campbell resigned as Liberal leader in 1961 (the "Progressive" name having been dropped), Molgat was selected to replace him. A protégé of Campbell, he was aligned with the more traditionalist wing of the party. His primary opponent for the party's leadership was Stan Roberts, who represented its modernizing wing. He was the first francophone party leader in Manitoba since 1919, and the first ever in the province's Liberal Party.
As party leader, Molgat prevented the Liberals from falling behind the New Democratic Party for third-party status, but he was never able to pose a serious threat to Roblin's government. The Progressive Conservatives had greater urban support, and were generally regarded as the more "modernizing" party. The Liberals won 13 seats in 1962, and 14 in 1966 (out of 57). Molgat never faced any serious competition in his own riding.
Roblin resigned as Progressive Conservative leader in 1967 and was replaced by the more conservative
Walter Weir
Walter Cocksmith Weir (June 7, 1929 – April 17, 1985) was a Canadian politician. Weir served as the 15th premier of Manitoba from 1967 to 1969.
The son of James Dixon Weir, he was born in Hugh Bluff, Manitoba and was educated there and i ...
Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...
in 1968, Weir's government took a number of steps to prevent the establishment of official bilingualism in the province. These measures seemed to be supported by many in Manitoba's anglophone community, and the provincial Liberals were shut out in four crucial
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 ...
s in early 1969. Molgat resigned as party leader soon thereafter, and was replaced by Robert Bend.
This proved to be a poor strategic decision for the Liberals. Bend represented the rural, traditional wing of the party, and had been out of politics for a decade. His campaign fared poorly, and the party was reduced to five members in the general election of 1969 (three of whom were francophone). Molgat was again elected in Ste. Rose without serious difficulty.
The election itself resulted in a temporary stalemale, with
Edward Schreyer
Edward Richard Schreyer (born December 21, 1935) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 22nd since Canadian Confederation.
Schreyer was born and educated in Manitoba, and was first electe ...
's New Democrats winning 28 seats out of 57, one shy of a majority. There were negotiations among the Liberal and Conservative parties to form a coalition; one scenario would have seen Molgat serving as Premier. The impasse was ended when a francophone Liberal MLA named
Laurent Desjardins
Laurent Louis "Larry" Desjardins (March 15, 1923 – February 7, 2012) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as a member of the Manitoba legislature for most of the period from 1959 to 1988, and was a cabinet minister under New Democ ...
announced that he would support the NDP.
Molgat resigned his seat on October 7, 1970, having been appointed on the recommendation of Pierre Trudeau to the Canadian Senate. Now allowed to use the title "
The Honourable
''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...
", he soon became one the Senate's leading figures in the field of constitutional reform, co-chairing a Special Joint Committee on the
Constitution of Canada
The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...
in 1971, and another on Senate Reform in 1983. He also served as president of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1973 until 1976. Later in the 1980s, he would serve of Chair of the Senate Committee of the Whole on the Meech Lake Constitutional Accord.
Molgat was elected deputy speaker in 1983 and was re-elected to the position in 1988. From September 30, 1991, to November 11, 1993, he served as deputy opposition leader in the Senate. When the federal Liberals under Jean Chrétien formed government, Molgat became deputy government leader. One year later, when
Roméo LeBlanc
Roméo-Adrien LeBlanc (December 18, 1927June 24, 2009) was a Canadian journalist, politician and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 25th since Canadian Confederation.
LeBlanc was born and educated in New Brunswick, and also ...
was appointed
Governor General of Canada
The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...
, Molgat replaced him as Speaker of the Senate of Canada.
Molgat also served as President of the Liberal Party of Canada. He died in hospital on February 28, 2001 following a stroke.