Robert Middlemiss (January 8, 1935 – May 28, 2010) was an engineer and politician from Quebec, who served in the

Robert Bourassa Robert Bourassa (; July 14, 1933 – October 2, 1996) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd premier of Quebec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Liberal Party of Quebec, he served a total of just un ...

and

Daniel Johnson Jr. Daniel Johnson Jr. (born December 24, 1944) is a former Canadian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Quebec and was the 25th premier of Quebec for nine months in 1994 until his party's defeat in the provincial general election. ...

governments.

Biography

Middlemiss was born 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 ...

to William Middlemiss, a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, and Imelda Cardinal. He studied at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

and

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, obtaining a Bachelor of Applied Science from the latter institution in 1961. He worked as a

geotechnical engineer Geotechnical engineering is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. It uses the principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics for the solution of its respective engineering problems. It als ...

from 1961 to 1981.

Political career

From 1970 until 1979, Middlemiss was an elected alderman for Aylmer. In 1981, his friend Michel Gratton convinced him to be a Liberal candidate in

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality **Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

, a newly reformed riding that now included the territory of Aylmer. Being born of an anglophone father and a French-speaking mother, he had the advantage of being equally at ease in both communities. On his first attempt, in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, he was elected easily; however, the Liberal Party under leader

Claude Ryan Claude Ryan, (January 26, 1925 – February 9, 2004) was a Canadian journalist and politician. He was the director of the newspaper ''Le Devoir'' from 1964 to 1978, leader of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1978 to 1982, National Assembly of ...

formed the opposition. Middlemiss was re-elected four times and never faced a serious challenge in the heavily federalist riding, only once dipping below 50% in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

due to the English-speaking minority rights Equality Party challenging the Liberal Government over the invocation of the

notwithstanding clause Section 33 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is part of the Constitution of Canada. It is commonly known as the notwithstanding clause (french: clause dérogatoire, links=no or ), sometimes referred to as the override power, and ...

of the

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 ...

to override a

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

ruling overturning parts of the

Charter of the French Language The ''Charter of the French Language'' (french: link=no, La charte de la langue française), also known in English as Bill 101, Law 101 (''french: link=no, Loi 101''), or Quebec French Preference Law, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada ...

. In 1985, the Liberals regained power with

at the head of the party. However, Middlemiss did not enter the Cabinet until 1989. He was named Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. On October 5, 1990, he became

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...

, and on January 11, 1994, when Bourassa was replaced by the short-lived government of

, he was appointed

Minister of Public Safety The minister of public safety (french: ministre de la sécurité publique) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet responsible for overseeing Public Safety Canada, the internal security department of the Government of Canada. The ...

Final years

Middlemiss did not run for re-election in 2003. He died in

Gatineau, Quebec Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on May 28, 2010.Robert Middlemiss obituary
/ref>

References

External links

National Assembly of Québec Biography {{DEFAULTSORT:Middlemiss, Robert 1935 births 2010 deaths Deaths from cancer in Quebec Geotechnical engineers McGill University Faculty of Science alumni Members of the Executive Council of Quebec Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Quebec municipal councillors Politicians from Gatineau 20th-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian politicians