Bill Gillis

John William Gillis (October 31, 1936 – August 15, 2009), generally known as Bill Gillis, was a Canadian politician who served in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1970 to 1998. He represented the electoral district of Antigonish for the Liberals.

The Honourable
Bill Gillis
MLA for Antigonish
In office
1970–1998
Preceded byWilliam F. MacKinnon
Succeeded byHyland Fraser
Minister of Finance
In office
June 27, 1996 – April 8, 1998
Preceded byBernie Boudreau
Succeeded byDon Downe
Personal details
Born(1936-10-31)October 31, 1936
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedAugust 15, 2009(2009-08-15) (aged 72)
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Political partyLiberal
OccupationGeologist

Born in Boston, Massachusetts,[1] his family moved to Antigonish when he was six weeks old.[2][3] Gillis was a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University, and held a doctorate in geology from Pennsylvania State University.[4] Gillis was employed as a geologist with the Canadian Department of Energy, Mines and Resources from 1962 to 1967. He taught geology at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia from 1967 to 1970.[5] Gillis died on August 15, 2009, as a result of brain cancer.[2][6]

Political career

Gillis first attempted to enter provincial politics in the 1967 election, but lost to Progressive Conservative William F. MacKinnon by 26 votes.[7][8] He ran again in the 1970 election and defeated Progressive Conservative William Shaw by 408 votes to win the Antigonish riding.[9] On October 28, 1970, he was appointed by Premier Gerald Regan to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia as Minister of Agriculture and Marketing, and Minister of Municipal Affairs.[10] He was named Minister of Welfare in September 1972,[11] and was shuffled to Minister of Education in August 1973.[12] Gillis was re-elected in the 1974 election,[13] and remained as Minister of Education until February 1976 when he became Minister of Mines.[4]

Gillis was re-elected in the 1978 election,[14] but the Liberals were defeated[15] and he moved to the opposition benches for the next 15 years. During his years in opposition, Gillis was re-elected in the 1981,[16] 1984,[17] and 1988 elections.[18]

In the 1993 election, the Liberals led by John Savage won a majority government,[19] and Gillis was re-elected in his riding by over 4,000 votes.[20] On June 11, 1993, Savage appointed Gillis to cabinet as Deputy Premier and Minister of Justice,[21][22] becoming the first non-lawyer in the province's history to hold the justice job.[23] Gillis remained as Minister of Justice until June 26, 1996, when he became Minister of Finance, while being retained as Deputy Premier,[24] the two jobs he continued to hold after Russell MacLellan took over as premier in July 1997.[25] Gillis did not reoffer in the 1998 election.[26][27]

References
  1. "Dr. John William Gillis". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
  2. "Longtime Liberal member of the Nova Scotia legislature dies of brain cancer". The Truro Daily News. August 17, 2009. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  3. Simpson, Jeffery (August 17, 2009). "Longtime Liberal MLA Dies". The Chronicle Herald. Archived from the original on September 20, 2009. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  4. Elliott, Shirley B. (1984). The Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1758–1983 : a biographical directory. Public Archives of Nova Scotia. p. 83. ISBN 0-88871-050-X. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  5. "Longtime MLA Gillis dies". CBC News. August 17, 2009. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  6. Cameron, David (August 19, 2009). "Bill Gillis: a man of, and for, the people". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  7. "Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1967" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. 1967. p. 5. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  8. "Gentleman politician remembered". The Casket. August 18, 2009. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  9. "Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1970" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. 1970. p. 5. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  10. "Regan takes office, divides Cabinet jobs among nine Liberals". The Globe and Mail. October 29, 1970.
  11. "Regan shakes up N.S. Cabinet; youth department to be formed". The Globe and Mail. September 8, 1972.
  12. "Regan again shuffles Nova Scotia Cabinet". The Globe and Mail. August 21, 1973.
  13. "Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1974" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. 1974. p. 26. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  14. "Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1978" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. 1978. p. 26. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  15. "Conservatives sweep Liberals in Nova Scotia". The Globe and Mail. September 20, 1978.
  16. "Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1981" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. 1981. p. 27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-10. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  17. "Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1984" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. 1984. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  18. "Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1988" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. 1988. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  19. "Liberal landslide". The Chronicle Herald. May 26, 1993. Archived from the original on August 30, 2000. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  20. "Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1993" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. 1993. p. 34. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  21. "Historic Liberal cabinet sworn in". The Chronicle Herald. June 12, 1993. Archived from the original on August 30, 2000. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  22. "New cabinet in Nova Scotia smaller by one". The Globe and Mail. June 12, 1993.
  23. "Gillis sets legal precedent". The Chronicle Herald. June 12, 1993. Archived from the original on August 30, 2000. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  24. "Premier shuffles cabinet". Government of Nova Scotia. June 27, 1996. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  25. "MacLellan makeover". The Chronicle Herald. July 19, 1997. Archived from the original on February 4, 1998. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  26. "Liberals pick Fraser as Antigonish candidate". The Chronicle Herald. March 26, 1998. Archived from the original on January 23, 2005. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  27. Rodenhiser, David (March 28, 1998). "MacLellan faces cabinet selection from depleted Liberal stocks". Canadian Press NewsWire. Toronto.
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