Gilles Roch (born August 26, 1952 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

) is a

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 Manitoba,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...

from 1986 to 1990, representing the rural riding of

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

. The son of Marcel Roch, he worked as a hotel manager before entering political life. He was a board member of the Tourist Industry Association of Manitoba, and was also a member of the Franco-Manitoban School Trustees Association. Unlike most Franco-Manitoba politicians, Roch was an

evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

rather than a

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. Roch's political career followed an unusual course. He initially supported the Liberals, but defected to the Progressive Conservative Party in 1986 when the Liberals denied him permission to run as a candidate for the party. In the provincial election of 1986, Roch was elected in Springfield as a Progressive Conservative, defeating incumbent

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

Andy Anstett Andrue John Anstett (born June 25, 1946) is a former politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the New Democratic Party government of Premier Howard Pawley, and made an unsuccessful bid for the party's leadership in 1988. Anstett was born ...

by 55 votes. He was re-elected by a much greater margin in the 1988 election, in which the Progressive Conservatives formed a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

under

Gary Filmon Gary Albert Filmon (born August 24, 1942) is Canadian politician from Manitoba. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the 19th premier of Manitoba from 1988 to 1999. Political care ...

. Roch, against his expectations, was not appointed to Filmon's cabinet following the election. On September 8, 1988, he crossed the floor to rejoin the Liberal Party, which was the official opposition in the legislature at the time. These changing allegiances won Roch few supporters, and he did not seek re-election in the 1990 election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roch, Gilles 1952 births Franco-Manitoban people Living people Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs Politicians from Winnipeg Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs