Romeo Saganash
Romeo Saganash MP |
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Shadow Minister for International Cooperation | |
In office April 19, 2012 – October 21, 2012 |
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Leader | Thomas Mulcair |
Preceded by | Jinny Sims |
Succeeded by | Hélène Laverdière |
Shadow Minister for Natural Resources | |
In office May 26, 2011 – September 30, 2011 |
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Leader | Jack Layton Nycole Turmel |
Preceded by | Denis Coderre |
Succeeded by | Claude Gravelle |
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou |
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Assumed office May 2, 2011 |
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Preceded by | Yvon Lévesque |
Deputy Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees | |
In office 1990 – 1993[1] |
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Grand Chief | Ted Moses |
Personal details | |
Born | Diom Romeo Saganash[2] October 28, 1961 Waswanipi, Quebec, Canada |
Political party | New Democratic Party |
Residence | Quebec City |
Alma mater | Université du Québec à Montréal |
Profession | Lawyer |
Website | www |
Diom Roméo Saganash, MP (born October 28, 1961) is a Canadian politician and the Member of Parliament for the Quebec riding of Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou.[3] He is a member of the New Democratic Party and was first elected in the 2011 federal election, succeeding Yvon Lévesque of the Bloc Québécois. He was reelected on October 19, 2015.
Early life
Saganash was born on October 28, 1961 in Waswanipi, a native community in Quebec.[3] At the age of seven, he was among 27 Cree children taken from their homes to attend French-language schooling in La Tuque, while living with an English-speaking Anglican family.[4] The program was cancelled the following year, but he remained there for ten years, completing his schooling in French.[5] After that, he attended a meeting on the negotiations between the Cree and Government officials on constitutional and resource rights, which sparked his interest in pursuing a law degree. He attended law school at the Université du Québec à Montréal and in 1989 he became the first Cree to receive a law degree in Quebec.[6] Saganash is fluent in Cree, French and English.[7]
Career
In 1985, Saganash founded the Cree Nation Youth Council.[8] He was the Vice-Grand Chief to The Grand Council of the Crees of James Bay from 1990 to 1993,[2] and he later became director of Quebec relations and international affairs for over ten years.[9] From 1997 to 2000, Saganash chaired the James Bay Advisory Committee on the Environment.[8]
As a prominent Cree figure in a riding with many aboriginal voters, Saganash received personal support from NDP Quebec lieutenant Thomas Mulcair, who referred to Saganash as a "very important candidate".[9] He was elected in the 2011 federal election to represent Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou.
On Friday September 16, 2011, Saganash announced that he was running for the leadership of the NDP, to succeed Jack Layton.[10] He is believed to be the first aboriginal leader to run for the leadership of a major Canadian party.[7] He announced his withdrawal on February 9, 2012, citing illness in his family and a lack of confidence in his campaign.[11] On March 7, 2012, Saganash announced that he would support Mulcair for NDP leader.[12]
After an incident where he was removed from an Air Canada Jazz flight from Montreal to Val-d'Or for intoxication, Saganash took sick leave in October of 2012 for the treatment of alcohol dependency. Saganash cited the death of his "friend and mentor" Jack Layton, as well as the "profound scars" he received while in the residential school system as the reasons for his dependency.[13] He completed his treatment in November 2012, and returned for the start of the House's first session of 2013.[14]
Electoral record
Canadian federal election, 2015 | ||||||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | Expenditures | |||
New Democratic | Roméo Saganash | 12,778 | 37.0 | -7.82 | – | |||
Liberal | Pierre Dufour | 11,094 | 32.1 | +21.63 | – | |||
Bloc Québécois | Luc Ferland | 6,398 | 18.5 | +0.23 | – | |||
Conservative | Steven Hébert | 3,211 | 9.3 | -13.25 | – | |||
Green | Patrick Benoît | 779 | 2.3 | -1.59 | – | |||
Rhinoceros | Mario Gagnon | 258 | 0.7 | – | – | |||
Total valid votes/Expense limit | 34,518 | 100.0 | $247,074.94 | |||||
Total rejected ballots | 609 | – | – | |||||
Turnout | 35,127 | 55.55 | – | |||||
Eligible voters | 63,226 | |||||||
New Democratic hold | Swing | -14.73 | ||||||
Source: Elections Canada[15][16] |
Canadian federal election, 2011 | ||||||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | ||||
New Democratic | Romeo Saganash | 13,961 | 44.79 | +36.59 | ||||
Conservative | Jean-Maurice Matte | 7,089 | 22.74 | -7.63 | ||||
Bloc Québécois | Yvon Lévesque | 5,615 | 18.02 | -21.63 | ||||
Liberal | Léandre Gervais | 3,282 | 10.53 | -7.89 | ||||
Green | Johnny Kasudluak | 1,221 | 3.92 | +0.58 | ||||
Total valid votes | 31,168 | 100.00 | ||||||
Total rejected ballots | 480 | 1.51 | ||||||
Turnout | 31,684 | 53.69 | ||||||
New Democratic gain from Bloc Québécois | Swing | +29.11
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See also
References
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- ↑ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, 30 September 2015
- ↑ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
External links
- Official website not in Wikidata
- 1961 births
- First Nations activists
- First Nations politicians
- Lawyers in Quebec
- Living people
- Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec
- New Democratic Party MPs
- People from Eeyou Istchee (territory)
- Université du Québec à Montréal alumni
- Indigenous Members of the House of Commons of Canada
- 20th-century indigenous people of the Americas
- 21st-century indigenous people of the Americas
- Cree people