Gerry St. Germain, Métis, 1937-
He is the first Métis to be a member of the federal
Cabinet; he is now a Senator from British Columbia. St. Germain
had various jobs prior to entering politics working variously
as a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, an RCMP officer, a building
contractor and a poultry farmer. Born in Manitoba, he later moved
to British Columbia where he became involved in agriculture and
real estate ventures. St. Germain was president of the Progressive
Conservative Party of Canada in the 1980s and was elected to a
seat in the Canadian House of Commons in 1983 through a by-election
on the same day that Brian Mulroney was elected. He was re-elected
in 1984 and served as National Caucus Chair, then as Minister
of State for Transport and later as Minister of State for Forestry.
He was appointed to the Senate in June 1993 just prior to Mulroney’s
retirement. St. Germain has served on various committees in the
Senate and presently chairs the Senate Standing Committee on Aboriginal
Peoples.
