Gerald Comeau Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Gerald Comeau
Office:Senator for Nova Scotia
Appointed:Brian Mulroney
Term Start:August 30, 1990
Term End:November 30, 2013
Constituency Mp2:West Nova
Parliament2:Canadian
Term Start2:September 4, 1984
Term End2:November 21, 1988
Predecessor2:Coline Campbell
Successor2:Coline Campbell
Birth Date:1 February 1946
Birth Place:Meteghan Station, Nova Scotia, Canada
Death Place:Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Spouse:Aurore
Party:Conservative

Gerald J. Comeau (February 1, 1946 – December 4, 2023) was a Canadian politician who served as a senator and as a member of Parliament.

Early life

Born in Meteghan Station, Nova Scotia, Comeau was an accountant by training. Comeau received his B.Comm and his B.Ed from the Université de Moncton.

Comeau was a member of Nova Scotia's Acadian minority.

Political career

Comeau was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as part of the Progressive Conservative landslide win in the 1984 election. The member of Parliament for South West Nova, Comeau was a government backbencher throughout his term and was defeated in the 1988 election due in part to the unpopularity of the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement in Atlantic Canada.

In 1990, Comeau was appointed to the Senate by Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn, on the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. He sat as a Progressive Conservative until February 2004. He then became a Conservative Party senator after the merger of the Progressive Conservative and the Canadian Alliance parties. He served as deputy leader of the Government in the Senate from February 23, 2006 to May 24, 2011.

On January 19, 2013, Governor General David Johnston, on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, appointed Comeau to the Privy Council.

Comeau retired from the Senate on November 30, 2013, seven years before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.[1]

Death

Comeau died from cancer at a hospital in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia on December 4, 2023, at the age of 77.[2] [3]

Notes and References

  1. News: Gerald Comeau announces early retirement from Senate . . . December 12, 2013 . live . November 20, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231120034459/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/gerald-comeau-announces-early-retirement-from-senate-1.2434006 . December 8, 2023.
  2. Web site: Hon. Gerald J.'s Obituary . Meteghan Funeral & Cremation Services . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231208212354/https://www.meteghanfuneralhome.ca/obituary/hon-gerald-j-comeau . December 8, 2023 . December 8, 2023.
  3. News: L'ancien sénateur acadien Gerald Comeau est décédé . French . Former Acadian Senator Gerald Comeau has died . December 5, 2023 . December 6, 2023 . . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231208212717/https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2032444/gerald-comeau-acadie-senat-deces . December 8, 2023 . December 8, 2023.