Jacques Flynn Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Jacques Flynn
Office:Minister of Justice
Attorney General of Canada
Primeminister:Joe Clark
Term Start:June 4, 1979
Term End:March 2, 1980
Predecessor:Marc Lalonde
Successor:Jean Chrétien
Office1:Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys
Primeminister1:John Diefenbaker
Term Start1:December 28, 1961
Term End1:July 12, 1962
Predecessor1:Walter Dinsdale (acting)
Successor1:Hugh John Flemming (acting)
Office2:Senator for Rougemont, Quebec
Appointed2:John Diefenbaker
Term Start2:November 9, 1962
Term End2:August 22, 1990
Predecessor2:Henri Courtemanche
Successor2:John Sylvain
Riding3:Quebec South
Parliament3:Canadian
Term Start3:March 31, 1958
Term End3:June 17, 1962
Predecessor3:Frank Power
Successor3:Jean-Charles Cantin
Birth Date:22 August 1915
Birth Place:Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
Death Place:Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Party:Progressive Conservative
Children:2
Relatives:Edmund James Flynn (grandfather)
Education:Université Laval

Jacques Flynn (August 22, 1915  - September 21, 2000) was a Canadian lawyer and federal politician, serving in both the House of Commons and Senate.

Flynn was born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, the grandson of the Premier of Quebec Edmund James Flynn. He both graduated in law from Université Laval and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1939.

A Progressive Conservative, Flynn ran unsuccessfully to represent the riding of Quebec South in the House of Commons in the 1957 election; he came second to the Liberal incumbent, Frank Power. He narrowly defeated Power in a rematch in Quebec South in the 1958 election when John Diefenbaker led the PC Party to a landslide victory.

Flynn became Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada in 1960. In December 1961, Prime Minister Diefenbaker brought Flynn into the Cabinet of Canada as Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys, a position he held until losing his seat to Liberal challenger Jean-Charles Cantin in the 1962 election that reduced the Conservatives to a minority government. Later that year, he was appointed to the Senate.

Flynn served as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from 1967 until the 1979 election that brought the Tories back to power. Prime Minister Joe Clark brought Flynn into Cabinet as Minister of Justice. It was unusual for a senator to hold such a senior cabinet portfolio, but as the Conservatives were elected with virtually no representation from Quebec, it was necessary to attempt to achieve regional balance in Cabinet by appointing senators to the body.

With the defeat of the Clark government to Pierre Trudeau's Liberals in the 1980 election, Flynn returned to the position of Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. He continued in that role until the PCs, now led by Brian Mulroney, returned to government in 1984. He remained in the Upper House until his retirement in 1990.

In 1993, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.