Gregory Francis Thompson, (March 28, 1947 – September 10, 2019) was a Canadian politician who served six terms as a

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), and for one term he represented the district of

Saint Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

in the

New Brunswick Legislative Assembly New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, from 2018 until 2019.

Political career

Thompson was formerly a high school history teacher at Fundy High School from 1975–1980. Thompson, a high school teacher, a businessman and financial planner was first 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 ...

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

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

. He was elected in the riding of

Carleton—Charlotte Carleton—Charlotte was a federal electoral district in New Brunswick, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1997. The riding was created in the redistribution of electoral districts in 1966. It consisted of ...

. His bid for re-election in the

1993 Canadian federal election The 1993 Canadian federal election was held on October 25, 1993, to elect members to the House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Considered to be a major political realignment, it was one of the most eventful elections in Canada's hist ...

was unsuccessful and he was defeated by

Harold Culbert Harold William Culbert (16 May 1944 – 1 March 2005) was a Canadian businessman and politician. Culbert was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 1997. Culbert was born in Woodstock, New Brunswick and was once that comm ...

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'' ...

by fewer than 1,000 votes. Thompson however ran again in the next election and was re-elected in the riding of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, where he defeated Culbert. Thompson was re-elected in the

2000 Canadian federal election The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 37th Canadian Parliament, 37th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Pa ...

in the riding of

New Brunswick Southwest New Brunswick Southwest (french: Nouveau-Brunswick-Sud-Ouest; formerly known as Charlotte and St. Croix—Belleisle) is a federal electoral district in New Brunswick, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 20 ...

and again the

2004 Canadian federal election The 2004 Canadian federal election was held on June 28, 2004, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority but was able to continue in ...

in the riding of St. Croix—Belleisle. Shortly before the 2004 election, he joined the new

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...

. He was re-elected in the 2006 federal election. In the 2008 federal election he was elected for a sixth term in the riding of

by garnering over 58% of the vote. During his time in parliament, he has served as the critic of Human Resources Development, the Treasury Board, Regional Development, Health, and Public Accounts, as well as critic of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. On February 6, 2006, he was appointed Minister of Veterans Affairs in

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. In April 2007, he and Harper told the press in

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

that a

Veterans' Bill of Rights The ''Veterans' Bill of Rights'' is a bill of rights in Canada for veterans of the Canadian Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police.Melinda Dalton, "Harper unveils vets bill of rights; PM visits region to make policy announcement," ''The Record'' ...

would come into effect soon and there would be a new

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

for veterans along with it. Thompson resigned from his position in Cabinet on January 16, 2010, because years of travel had worn him down and he wasn't looking forward to making a trip to New Zealand due to the length and time he had to invest in the trip. He also announced he would not run in the 2011 federal election.

Veterans Affairs privacy issues

In October 2010, Canada's Privacy Commissioner

Jennifer Stoddart Jennifer Stoddart (born 1949) was the sixth Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Early life and education Stoddart was born in 1949 in Toronto. In 1967 she graduated from Neuchâtel Junior College in Switzerland. Fluent in five languages, she studied ...

uncovered evidence that widespread privacy abuses had been occurring at

Veterans Affairs Canada Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC; french: Anciens Combattants Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada with responsibility for pensions, benefits and services for war veterans, retired and still-serving members of the Canadian Arme ...

. Among the cases where privacy issues were investigated is that in which highly personal information of an outspoken critic of Veterans Affairs, including confidential medical and financial information, was included in briefing notes prepared for then-minister Greg Thompson.

Provincial politics

In 2018 Thompson ran provincially under the Progressive Conservatives in the riding of

and won. He served as

Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs The minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities (french: Ministre des Affaires intergouvernementales) is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the federal government's relations wit ...

until his death in September 2019.

Electoral record

References

External links