Geoff Regan Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Birth Name:Geoffrey Paul Regan
Office2:Chairman of the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations
Term Start2:January 20, 2020
Term End2:August 15, 2021
Predecessor2:Position established
Successor2:Vacant
Office:36th Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada
Term Start:3 December 2015
Term End:5 December 2019
Governor General:
Primeminister:Justin Trudeau
Predecessor:Andrew Scheer
Successor:Anthony Rota
Office3:Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Term Start3:12 December 2003
Term End3:5 February 2006
Primeminister3:Paul Martin
Predecessor3:Robert Thibault
Successor3:Loyola Hearn
Office4:Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Term Start4:13 September 2001
Term End4:11 December 2003
Primeminister4:Jean Chrétien
Minister4:Don Boudria
Predecessor4:Derek Lee
Successor4:Roger Gallaway
Riding5:Halifax West
Parliament5:Canadian
Term Start5:27 November 2000
Term End5:20 September 2021
Predecessor5:Gordon Earle
Successor5:Lena Diab
Term Start6:25 October 1993
Term End6:2 June 1997
Predecessor6:Howard Crosby
Successor6:Gordon Earle
Birth Date:1959 11, df=yes
Birth Place:Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada
Party:Liberal
Profession:Lawyer
Residence:Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada

Geoffrey Paul Regan (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.

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.[3] He was defeated in the 1997 election by NDP candidate Gordon Earle, mainly because of the federal government's changes to employment insurance.[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.[5] In 2003, Paul Martin appointed him as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

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

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. 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

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. 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. 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

Personal life

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

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Meet Geoff Regan, the new Speaker of the House of Commons. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 December 2015.
  2. Meet Geoff Regan, Canada's Speaker of the House of Commons. The Toastmaster. August 2016. 16–19. 26 March 2021.
  3. Web site: Atlantic region hands Liberals near-clean sweep. The Chronicle Herald. 26 October 1993. 17 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20011121074131/http://www.herald.ns.ca/fedelect97/archive/931026108.html. 21 November 2001 .
  4. Web site: NDP's Earle becomes first Black MP for N.S.. The Chronicle Herald. 3 June 1997. 17 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20010522114533/http://www.herald.ns.ca/fedelect/97archive/jun3/970603153.html. 22 May 2001.
  5. Web site: Halifax West's Regan 'delighted' to be back. The Chronicle Herald. 28 November 2000. 17 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20050124091442/http://www.herald.ns.ca/cgi-bin/home/displaypackstory?2000%2F11%2F28+236.raw+FE00Nov28+2. 24 January 2005. dead.
  6. Web site: Geoff Regan: 'What a thrill'. The Chronicle Herald. 29 June 2004. 17 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20050906115355/http://www.herald.ns.ca/cgi-bin/home/displaypackstory?2004%2F06%2F29+279.raw+FE04Jun29+2. 6 September 2005. dead.
  7. Web site: Regan holds Halifax West for Liberals. CBC News. 3 May 2011. 17 August 2015.
  8. Web site: Geoff Regan elected House Speaker as 42nd Parliament opens. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 December 2015.
  9. News: Tunney . Catharine . Zimonjic . Peter . Harris . Kathleen . Liberal MP Anthony Rota elected Speaker of the House of Commons . 16 December 2019 . CBC News . 5 December 2019.
  10. Web site: Liberal MP Anthony Rota elected Speaker. You're welcome, Conservatives say. 5 December 2019. National Post. 6 December 2019.
  11. Web site: Liberal MP Anthony Rota upsets Regan to become Speaker in minority Parliament. 5 December 2019. Burnaby Now. 6 December 2019. 5 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191205222807/https://www.burnabynow.com/liberal-mp-anthony-rota-upsets-regan-to-become-speaker-in-minority-parliament-1.24028433. dead.
  12. Web site: Former speaker of the House and long-time Nova Scotian MP Geoff Regan not re-offering. March 31, 2021. March 31, 2021. Global News. Renic. Karla. March 31, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210331141312/https://globalnews.ca/news/7730553/geoff-regan-halifax-west-not-running/. live.