Jacques Flynn, (August 22, 1915 – September 21, 2000) 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 ...

lawyer and federal politician, serving in both the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

and Senate. Flynn was born in

Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Saint-Hyacinthe (; French: ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montér� ...

, the grandson of the

Premier of Quebec The premier of Quebec ( French: ''premier ministre du Québec'' (masculine) or ''première ministre du Québec'' (feminine)) is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of th ...

Edmund James Flynn Edmund James Flynn (November 16, 1847 – June 7, 1927) was a Canadian politician and the tenth premier of Quebec, from 1896 to 1897. Background Flynn, the son of Jacques Flynn and Elizabeth Tostevin, was born at Percé on November 16, 184 ...

. He both graduated in law from

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montm ...

and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1939. A Progressive Conservative, Flynn ran unsuccessfully to represent the riding of

Quebec South Quebec South was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1968. This riding was created in 1914 from parts of Quebec West and Quebec-Centre ridings. It was abolished ...

in the House of Commons in the 1957 election; he came second to the

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 ...

incumbent, Frank Power. He narrowly defeated Power in a rematch in Quebec South in the 1958 election when

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electi ...

led the PC Party to a landslide victory. Flynn became Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada in 1960. In December 1961,

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 i ...

Diefenbaker brought Flynn into the Cabinet of Canada as Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys, a position he held until losing his seat to Liberal challenger Jean-Charles Cantin in the 1962 election that reduced the Conservatives to a minority government. Later that year, he was appointed to the Senate. Flynn served as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from 1967 until the 1979 election that brought the Tories back to power. Prime Minister

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...

brought Flynn into Cabinet as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. It was unusual for a senator to hold such a senior cabinet portfolio, but as the Conservatives were elected with virtually no representation from Quebec, it was necessary to attempt to achieve regional balance in Cabinet by appointing senators to the body. With the defeat of the Clark government to Pierre Trudeau's Liberals in the 1980 election, Flynn returned to the position of Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. He continued in that role until the PCs, now led by Brian Mulroney, returned to government in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. He remained in the Upper House until his retirement in 1990. In 1993, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, Jacques 1915 births 2000 deaths Canadian legal scholars Canadian senators from Quebec Lawyers in Quebec Members of the 18th Canadian Ministry Members of the 21st Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Officers of the Order of Canada People from Saint-Hyacinthe Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Progressive Conservative Party of Canada senators Quebec people of Irish descent Université Laval alumni 20th-century Canadian lawyers Canadian King's Counsel Université Laval faculty