Roger Gallaway
Encyclopedia
Roger John Gallaway, PC
(born May 23, 1948 in Sarnia
, Ontario
) is an educator and retired Canadian
politician
. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons
from 1993 to 2006, representing the riding of Sarnia—Lambton
for the Liberal Party
.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree from the University of Western Ontario
and an LL.B
from the University of Windsor
. He practiced law before entering political life, and was involved in a variety of community organizations in the Sarnia area. In 1991, he was elected mayor
of Point Edward
. Gallaway graduated from S.C.I.T.S. High School, Sarnia's oldest.
, defeating Progressive Conservative
incumbent Ken James by over 10,000 votes. He was re-elected by similarly large pluralities in the elections of 1997
and 2000
, and defeated Conservative
candidate Marcel Beaubien
by over 5,000 votes in the 2004 election
. He was defeated by Conservative Patricia Davidson
by over 4,000 votes in the 2006 election
. Soon afterwards, Gallaway blamed the Liberals' ouster from Canadian government on the leadership of Paul Martin
, and was the first from within the party to call for Martin's resignation as party leader.
He ran for Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
in 1997, and was eliminated on the second ballot.
Gallaway was occasionally labeled a maverick MP in the Liberal Party, particularly in later years, and was a vocal opponent of the federal gun registry for many years, and unsuccessfully attempted to cut off funding for the program in late 2004. Gallaway has also called for government funding to be withdrawn from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
, and opposed negative option billing
by cable companies in the late 1990s.
He also holds socially conservative
views on some issues, although he has not emphasized these as strongly as others within the party, such as Tom Wappel
and Rose-Marie Ur
. Gallaway was an opponent of same-sex marriage
and voted against the Civil Marriage Act
, which legalized it, in 2005.
He is a personal friend and was a frequent political ally of Senator
Anne Cools
, and has worked with her to propose reforms to Canada's divorce
laws which would have ensured greater custody rights for fathers. In furtherance of these concerns, Gallaway served as co-chair of the Special Joint Committee on Custody and Access, which recommended shared parenting
as the norm in its report, For the Sake of the Children
, issued in 1998.
From December 2003 to July 2004, Gallaway served as parliamentary secretary
to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, with special emphasis on democratic reform..
Gallaway is also a musician. He formed the band "True Grit" with several Liberal MPs, including Joe Fontana
and future prime minister Jean Chrétien (who played trombone). Gallaway has also appeared in performances with Sarnia/Port Huron's International Symphony, and was the narrator of a "Child's Introduction to the Symphony
".
Gallaway supported Bob Rae
's unsuccessful bid to become leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in the 2006 Liberal leadership election.
. He has also thrown his hat in the ring for the 2010 Point Edward municipal elections, trying to become mayor of the tiny town once again. He faced stiff competition in the race against the incumbent mayor, Dick Kirkland, and veteran councillor, Janice Robson, and he ultimately lost to Kirkland. http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2764580
}
Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.
Source: Elections Canada
Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election.
Source: Elections Canada
Source: Elections Canada
Source: Elections Canada
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
(born May 23, 1948 in Sarnia
Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
) is an educator and retired Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
from 1993 to 2006, representing the riding of Sarnia—Lambton
Sarnia—Lambton
Sarnia—Lambton is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968....
for the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
and an LL.B
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
from the University of Windsor
University of Windsor
The University of Windsor is a public comprehensive and research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has a student population of approximately 15,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and over 1000 graduate students...
. He practiced law before entering political life, and was involved in a variety of community organizations in the Sarnia area. In 1991, he was elected mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Point Edward
Point Edward, Ontario
Point Edward is a village in the Canadian province of Ontario. Adjacent to the city of Sarnia in Lambton County, Point Edward sits opposite Port Huron, Michigan at the mouth of the St. Clair River...
. Gallaway graduated from S.C.I.T.S. High School, Sarnia's oldest.
Political career
Two years into his tenure as mayor of the small town of Point Edward, Ontario, Gallaway took a shot at federal politics. He was first elected to parliament in the 1993 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
, defeating Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
incumbent Ken James by over 10,000 votes. He was re-elected by similarly large pluralities in the elections of 1997
Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
and 2000
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, and defeated Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
candidate Marcel Beaubien
Marcel Beaubien
Marcel Beaubien is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003, and unsuccessfully sought election to the Canadian House of Commons as the Conservative candidate in the federal riding of Sarnia-Lambton in...
by over 5,000 votes in the 2004 election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
. He was defeated by Conservative Patricia Davidson
Patricia Davidson
Patricia A. "Pat" Davidson is a member of the Canadian House of Commons elected in 2006 representing the riding of Sarnia—Lambton and is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada....
by over 4,000 votes in the 2006 election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
. Soon afterwards, Gallaway blamed the Liberals' ouster from Canadian government on the leadership of Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
, and was the first from within the party to call for Martin's resignation as party leader.
He ran for Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...
in 1997, and was eliminated on the second ballot.
Gallaway was occasionally labeled a maverick MP in the Liberal Party, particularly in later years, and was a vocal opponent of the federal gun registry for many years, and unsuccessfully attempted to cut off funding for the program in late 2004. Gallaway has also called for government funding to be withdrawn from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, and opposed negative option billing
Negative option billing
Negative option billing is a business practice in which goods or services are provided automatically, and the customer must either pay for the service or specifically decline it in advance of billing....
by cable companies in the late 1990s.
He also holds socially conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
views on some issues, although he has not emphasized these as strongly as others within the party, such as Tom Wappel
Tom Wappel
Thomas William "Tom" Wappel is a Canadian politician. He was a Liberal member of the House of Commons from 1988 to 2008, representing the Toronto riding of Scarborough West and its successor riding of Scarborough Southwest. He did not seek re-election in the 2008 general election.Wappel is a...
and Rose-Marie Ur
Rose-Marie Ur
Rose-Marie Margaret Ur is a Canadian politician. She was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 until 2005 and, in her final term in office, represented the riding of Middlesex—Kent—Lambton for the Liberal Party.- Biography :Ur was educated at the Strathroy Middlesex General...
. Gallaway was an opponent of same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
and voted against the Civil Marriage Act
Civil Marriage Act
The Civil Marriage Act was legislation legalizing same-sex marriage across Canada...
, which legalized it, in 2005.
He is a personal friend and was a frequent political ally of Senator
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
Anne Cools
Anne Cools
Anne Clare Cools is a member of the Canadian Senate. Born in Barbados, with her appointment, she became the first Black Canadian to be appointed to Canada's upper house...
, and has worked with her to propose reforms to Canada's divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
laws which would have ensured greater custody rights for fathers. In furtherance of these concerns, Gallaway served as co-chair of the Special Joint Committee on Custody and Access, which recommended shared parenting
Shared parenting
Shared parenting refers to a collaborative arrangement in child custody or divorce determinations in which the care of the children is equal or more than substantially shared between the biological parents.- Nature and History :...
as the norm in its report, For the Sake of the Children
For The Sake Of The Children (Report)
For The Sake Of The Children was a report issued in December, 1998, by a Special Joint Committee of The Senate and The House of Commons of Canada, addressing issues relating to parental custody of and access to children after a relationship breakdown...
, issued in 1998.
From December 2003 to July 2004, Gallaway served as parliamentary secretary
Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, with special emphasis on democratic reform..
Gallaway is also a musician. He formed the band "True Grit" with several Liberal MPs, including Joe Fontana
Joe Fontana
Joseph Frank "Joe" Fontana, PC is the current mayor of London, Ontario. He was previously a Liberal member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding of London North Centre....
and future prime minister Jean Chrétien (who played trombone). Gallaway has also appeared in performances with Sarnia/Port Huron's International Symphony, and was the narrator of a "Child's Introduction to the Symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
".
Gallaway supported Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
's unsuccessful bid to become leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in the 2006 Liberal leadership election.
Recent career
Since leaving politics, Gallaway has served as an instructor in international business law at Lambton CollegeLambton College
Lambton College is a Canadian College of Applied Arts and Technology in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada established during the formation of Ontario's college system in 1967. It is a smaller college, with 2,500 full-time and 6,000 part-time students.-Programs:...
. He has also thrown his hat in the ring for the 2010 Point Edward municipal elections, trying to become mayor of the tiny town once again. He faced stiff competition in the race against the incumbent mayor, Dick Kirkland, and veteran councillor, Janice Robson, and he ultimately lost to Kirkland. http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2764580
Point Edward Municipal Election Results (Mayor), 2010
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|---|---|
| Roger Gallaway | 361 | |
| Dick Kirkland (X) | 433 | |
| Janice Robson | 170 | |
| Total Valid Votes |
Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.
Source: Elections Canada
Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election.
Source: Elections Canada
Source: Elections Canada
Source: Elections Canada