Alastair William Gillespie, (May 1, 1922 – August 19, 2018) was a Canadian politician and businessman. Gillespie was born in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

, the son of Errol Pilkington Gillespie and Catherine Beatrice (Oliver) Gillespie. He attended

Brentwood College School Brentwood College School is a co-educational boarding school.Thomson, Ashley and Sylvie Lafortune.'' Handbook of Canadian Boarding Schools''. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1999. Brentwood is located on Vancouver Island in Mill Bay, British Columbia, Ca ...

where he was an avid rugby player. He received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from

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 ...

in 1947 and a Masters of Arts from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

in 1949. He later received a Master of Commerce from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1958. Gillespie worked at educational publisher W.J. Gage & Co from 1949 to 1970, beginning in warehouse operations and finishing as director and vice president. During World War II, Gillespie served in Europe as a pilot in the Canadian Fleet Air Arm and was a Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1941 to 1945. He was 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 ...

as a

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 ...

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) for the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

area riding of

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

in the 1968 election. He was re-elected in the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and 1974 elections. His district was divided by electoral redistribution in 1976, which took effect at the election of 1979. He ran in 1979, losing to Progressive Conservative candidate Michael Wilson in Etobicoke Centre. Gillespie held various ministerial positions in

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 is not ...

Pierre Elliot Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...

's government, including: Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce;

Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources The minister of natural resources () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). In addition to NRCan, the minister oversees the federal government's natural resources portfolio ...

; Minister of State for Science and Technology; and Parliamentary Secretary to the

President of the Treasury Board The president of the Treasury Board () is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The president is the chair of the Treasury Board of Canada (a committee of Cabinet in the Privy Council) and is the minister responsible for the Treasury B ...

. He is one of the longest-serving Privy Counsellors of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, having been nominated to that body in 1971 by Prime Minister Trudeau. In 1998, 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 ...

. Gillespie was director and chairman of Creemore Springs Brewery from 1996 to 2005. He was director of the Canadian Opera Company from 1981 to 1993 and president from 1986 to 1988. A member of the Campaign for Scottish Studies at the University of Guelph, he was named 2003 Scot of the Year by the Scottish Studies Society. In 2010, he was awarded the office of Honorary President of the

Champlain Society The Champlain Society seeks to advance knowledge of Canadian history through the publication of scholarly books (both digital and print) of primary records of voyages, travels, correspondence, diaries and governmental documents and memoranda. The ...

for his support of the advancement of knowledge of Canadian history through the publication and study of primary records. Alastair Gillespie was married to Diana Christie Gillespie (Clark, d. 2010) and has two children, Ian Gillespie and Cynthia Webb. He is the grandfather of former Canadian professional tennis player, Olympian, NCAA Division I women's tennis champion and Duke University Athletics Hall of Fame member

Vanessa Webb Vanessa Webb (born 24 January 1976) is a Canadian former professional tennis player. She is currently the Player Class Director for the WTA Board of Directors. In her career, she won ten singles and 25 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. She ...

. He died in August 2018 at the age of 96.

Bibliography

* Gillespie, Alastair W. and Irene Sage, ''Made in Canada: A Businessman's Adventures in Politics'', Robin Brass Studio, 2010.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillespie, Alastair 1922 births 2018 deaths Canadian Anglicans Canadian Rhodes Scholars Liberal Party of Canada MPs McGill University Faculty of Management alumni Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Politicians from Toronto Politicians from Victoria, British Columbia University of Toronto alumni

Bibliography

Archives

Electoral record

References