Geoff Regan

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For the English author, see Geoffrey Regan.
The Honourable
Geoff Regan
PC
Geoff Regan MP.jpg
36th Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada
In office
3 December 2015 – 5 December 2019
Monarch Elizabeth II
Governor General <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Preceded by Andrew Scheer
Succeeded by Anthony Rota
Chairman of the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations
In office
January 20, 2020 – August 15, 2021
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Vacant
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
In office
12 December 2003 – 5 February 2006
Prime Minister Paul Martin
Preceded by Robert Thibault
Succeeded by Loyola Hearn
Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
In office
13 September 2001 – 11 December 2003
Prime Minister Jean Chretien
Preceded by Derek Lee
Succeeded by Rodger Gallaway
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Halifax West
In office
27 November 2000 – 20 September 2021
Preceded by Gordon Earle
Succeeded by Lena Diab
In office
25 October 1993 – 2 June 1997
Preceded by Howard Crosby
Succeeded by Gordon Earle
Personal details
Born Geoffrey Paul Regan
(1959-11-22) 22 November 1959 (age 64)
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Kelly Regan (m. 1993)
Residence Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada
Profession Lawyer
Website www.geoffregan.ca

Geoffrey Paul Regan PC (born 22 November 1959) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 36th Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Halifax West 2000 to 2021, previously holding the seat from 1993 to 1997. Under Paul Martin, he was Minister of Fisheries and Oceans from 2003 to 2006.

Early life and career

Regan was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia. Regan is the son of Gerald Regan, a former Premier of Nova Scotia and Cabinet Minister under Pierre Trudeau, and Carole Harrison, the daughter of John Harrison, a Member of Parliament from Saskatchewan.[1] Two of his sisters are also well-known: Nancy Regan was a well-known local television personality with ATV, Laura Regan is an actress.[citation needed]

Regan graduated from Sackville High School in 1977 and then earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from St. Francis Xavier University in 1980. Following university, Regan went on to earn a law degree from Dalhousie University, graduating in 1983. He was admitted to the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society in 1984 and practiced real estate and commercial law before entering public life.

Regan was a member of Toastmasters for almost ten years, in the late 1980s to early 1990s.[2]

Federal politics

Regan was first elected to the House of Commons as part of the Liberal landslide victory in the 1993 federal election under Jean Chrétien.[1][3] He was defeated in the 1997 election by NDP candidate Gordon Earle, mainly because of the federal government's changes to employment insurance.[1][4]

After regaining his seat in the 2000 federal election, Regan was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, a position then held by Don Boudria.[1][5] In 2003, Paul Martin appointed him as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.[1]

Regan was the Regional Minister for Nova Scotia in the newly formed government of Paul Martin, sworn in on 12 December 2003. Regan was re-elected in the 2004 federal election.[6] He would keep position in cabinet in Martin’s minority government. In February 2004, Regan was appointed to act as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, in matters related to Maher Arar.

In opposition

Regan with Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff during the 2011 federal election campaign

Upon the defeat of the Liberal government in the 2006 election, he was appointed by Bill Graham, Interim Leader of the Official Opposition, to the shadow cabinet as the Official Opposition Critic for Human Resources and Skills Development. During his time as critic, Regan introduced a private members’ bill to expand Canada Access Grants for disabled and low income students. In January 2007, he was appointed to the newly created Liberal Priorities and Planning Committee, which was chaired by then Liberal Opposition Leader Stéphane Dion. In March 2008, Regan was named Chair of the Caucus Committee on Environmental Sustainability. Regan also served as Vice-Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.

Regan was re-elected in 2008, and 2011 federal elections,[7] despite significant Liberal losses in both. Regan won his seat by a few percentage points in the latter election as the Liberals finished in third place.[1] Under the leadership of Stephane Dion, Regan served as Opposition Critic for Human Resources and Skills Development. Under Michael Ignatieff, Regan served as Liberal Critic for Natural Resources, and later, Public Works and Government Services and also as the Liberal Natural Resources Critic under leader Justin Trudeau and the Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources.

Speaker of the House of Commons

File:Speaker Geoff Regan 2016.jpg
Regan as Speaker

Regan was re-elected in the 2015 federal election with 68% of the vote as the Liberal party swept all 32 Atlantic Canada seats and formed a majority government.[1] On 2 December 2015, Regan was selected as Speaker of the House of Commons in secret ballot by members of the 42nd Parliament over Liberals Denis Paradis and Yasmin Ratansi and Conservative Bruce Stanton.[1] Regan won on the first ballot and served as the first speaker from Atlantic Canada in almost a hundred years.[8] In December 2019, he ran for re-election for Speaker of the Commons but lost to fellow Liberal MP Anthony Rota.[9] Following Rota's win, the Conservatives said that he had them to thank for his new position. They had made the decision during a caucus meeting to unseat Regan as a show of strength to the Liberal minority government.[10][11]

On March 31, 2021, Regan announced that he would not seek re-election.[12]

Awards and honours

  • Metro Food Bank Society Community Leadership Award (1992)
  • Halifax Board of Trade Certificate of Merit (1992)
  • Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002)
  • Appointed member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada (2003)
  • Elisabeth Mann Borgese Medal (2005) The International Ocean Institute awarded Regan then Minister of Fisheries and Oceans for his "exemplary leadership in the field of Ocean Governance."
  • Lebanese Community Recognition Award (2008)
  • Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012)
  • Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (2022)

Personal life

Regan's wife, Kelly Regan, is a provincial MLA and former Deputy Premier of Nova Scotia.[1]

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2019: Halifax West
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Liberal Geoff Regan 26,885 49.46 −19.19 $47,993.19
Conservative Fred Shuman 10,488 19.29 +3.64 $56,155.00
New Democratic Jacob Wilson 10,429 19.19 +7.42 $3,588.81
Green Richard Zurawski 6,555 12.06 +8.12 $1,525.90
Total valid votes/expense limit 54,357 99.15   $103,859.40
Total rejected ballots 465 0.85 +0.49
Turnout 54,822 70.71 −1.00
Eligible voters 77,531
Liberal hold Swing −11.42
Source: Elections Canada[13]
Canadian federal election, 2015: Halifax West
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Liberal Geoff Regan 34,377 68.65 +31.38 $51,596.91
Conservative Michael McGinnis 7,837 15.65 –14.53 $34,660.89
New Democratic Joanne Hussey 5,894 11.77 –16.68 $38,094.46
Green Richard Henryk Zurawski 1,971 3.94 –0.17 $258.75
Total valid votes/expense limit 50,079 100.00   $203,472.37
Total rejected ballots 181 0.36
Turnout 50,260 71.71
Eligible voters 70,089
Liberal hold Swing +22.95
Source: Elections Canada[14][15]
Canadian federal election, 2011: Halifax West
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Liberal Geoff Regan 16,230 35.92 -5.64 $61,795.88
Conservative Bruce Pretty 13,782 30.50 +9.37 $51,236.29
New Democratic Gregor Ash 13,239 29.30 -0.30 $42,761.72
Green Thomas Trappenberg 1,931 4.27 -2.81 $860.31
Total valid votes/expense limit 45,182 100.0     $84,619.08
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 239 0.53 +0.16
Turnout 45,421 62.34 +3.21
Eligible voters 72,862
Liberal hold Swing -7.47
Sources:[16][17]


Canadian federal election, 2008: Halifax West
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Liberal Geoff Regan 17,129 41.56 -7.80 $50,515.55
New Democratic Tamara Lorincz 12,201 29.60 +5.17 $25,480.72
Conservative Rakesh Khosla 8,708 21.13 -1.91 $29,390.36
Green Michael Munday 2,920 7.08 +3.90 $2,823.08
Christian Heritage Trevor Ennis 257 0.62 – $123.50
Total valid votes/expense limit 41,215 100.0     $81,056
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 154 0.37 +0.04
Turnout 41,369 59.13 -3.92
Eligible voters 69,960
Liberal hold Swing -6.48


Canadian federal election, 2006: Halifax West
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Liberal Geoff Regan 21,818 49.36 +1.86 $54,533.58
New Democratic Alan Hill 10,798 24.43 -3.52 $15,656.30
Conservative Rakesh Khosla 10,184 23.04 +2.10 $46,536.45
Green Thomas Trappenberg 1,406 3.18 -0.43 $642.68
Total valid votes/expense limit 44,206 100.0     $75,552
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 147 0.33 -0.02
Turnout 44,353 63.05 -0.46
Eligible voters 70,349
Liberal hold Swing +2.69


Canadian federal election, 2004: Halifax West
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Liberal Geoff Regan 19,083 47.50 +6.55 $60,896.27
New Democratic Bill Carr 11,228 27.95 -0.12 $33,350.95
Conservative Ken MacPhee 8,413 20.94 -9.26 $32,442.47
Green Martin Willison 1,452 3.61 – $1,152.00
Total valid votes/expense limit 40,176 100.0     $71,525
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 141 0.35
Turnout 40,317 63.51 +3.64
Eligible voters 63,479
Liberal notional hold Swing +3.34
Changes from 2000 are based on redistributed results. Conservative Party change is based on the combination of Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party totals.
Canadian federal election, 2000: Halifax West
Party Candidate Votes % ∆%
Liberal Geoff Regan 18,327 39.21 +8.32
New Democratic Gordon Earle 14,016 29.99 -4.64
Progressive Conservative Charles Cirtwill 9,701 20.76 -2.70
Alliance Hilda Stevens 4,531 9.70 -0.77
Marxist–Leninist Tony Seed 160 0.34 +0.19
Total valid votes 46,735 100.00
Liberal gain from New Democratic Swing +6.48


Changes for the Canadian Alliance from 1997 are based on the results of its predecessor, the Reform Party.

Canadian federal election, 1997: Halifax West
Party Candidate Votes % ∆%
New Democratic Gordon Earle 16,013 34.63 +26.23
Liberal Geoff Regan 14,284 30.89 -14.73
Progressive Conservative Heather Foley 10,848 23.46 -0.29
Reform Stephen Oickle 4,843 10.47 -8.93
Natural Law John Runkle 179 0.39 -0.42
Marxist–Leninist Gary Zatzman 70 0.15
Total valid votes 46,237 100.00
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +20.48


Canadian federal election, 1993: Halifax West
Party Candidate Votes % ∆%
Liberal Geoff Regan 26 904 45.62 +7.01
Progressive Conservative Joel Matheson 14 005 23.75 -21.00
Reform Jim Donohue 11,439 19.40
New Democratic Sheila Richardson 4,952 8.40 -7.85
National Kirby Judge 1,201 2.04
Natural Law Bernard Gormley 475 0.81
Total valid votes 58,976 100.00
Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative Swing +14.01


References

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  16. ↑ Elections Canada – Official voting results, Forty-first general election, 2011
  17. ↑ Elections Canada – Candidate's electoral campaign return, 41st general election

External links

Parliament of Canada
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Halifax West
1993–1997		 Succeeded by
Gordon Earle
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Halifax West
2000–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada
2015–2019		 Succeeded by
Anthony Rota
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
2003–2006		 Succeeded by
Loyola Hearn
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