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Gildas Molgat

The Honourable
Gildas Molgat
Gildas Molgat.jpg
Gildas Molgat in 2000
Speaker of the Senate
In office
November 22, 1994 – January 25, 2001
Nominated by Jean Chrétien
Appointed by Ramon Hnatyshyn
Preceded by Roméo LeBlanc
Succeeded by Daniel Hays
Senator for Manitoba
In office
October 7, 1970 – February 28, 2001
Nominated by Pierre Trudeau
Appointed by Roland Michener
Leader of the Opposition (Manitoba)
In office
1961–1969
Preceded by Douglas Lloyd Campbell
Succeeded by Walter Weir
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Ste. Rose
In office
July 6, 1953 – October 7, 1970
Preceded by Maurice Dane MacCarthy
Succeeded by Aime Adam
Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party
In office
April 20, 1961 – May 10, 1969
Preceded by Douglas Campbell
Succeeded by Robert Bend
President of the Liberal Party of Canada
In office
1973–1976
Preceded by Richard Stanbury
Succeeded by Alasdair Graham
Personal details
Born (1927-01-25)January 25, 1927
Sainte-Rose-du-Lac, Manitoba
Died February 28, 2001(2001-02-28) (aged 74)
Political party Liberal Party of Canada
Manitoba Liberal Party
Profession business consultant

Gildas Laurent Molgat, CD (January 25, 1927 – February 28, 2001) was a Canadian politician. He served as leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party from 1961 to 1969, and was subsequently appointed to the Senate of Canada, where he served as Speaker from 1994 until 2001. He died shortly thereafter.

The son of Louis F. Molgat and Adele Abraham, Molgat was born in Ste. Rose du Lac, Manitoba. He was educated at Ste. Rose School and the University of Manitoba. He worked as a manager for Bethel-Rennie Ltd. United Stores and Advance Credit Corporation, and served as an army captain in the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. He was married to Allison Malcolm.

Molgat was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in 1953, in the francophone riding of Ste. Rose. He was a Liberal-Progressive, and a supporter of Premier Douglas Lloyd Campbell.

The Liberal-Progressives lost the election of 1958, though Molgat was easily re-elected over his Progressive Conservative opponent. This was partly the result of historical francophone voting patterns in the province—most Franco-Manitobans supported the Progressive Party of John Bracken in the 1920s, and continued to support the party after it merged with the Liberals in 1932. Although Dufferin Roblin's Tories made several gains in 1958, the province's francophone ridings continued to elect Liberal-Progressive MLAs.

Molgat was re-elected in 1959, again by a significant margin. When Campbell resigned as Liberal leader in 1961 (the "Progressive" name having been dropped), Molgat was selected to replace him. A protégé of Campbell, he was aligned with the more traditionalist wing of the party. His primary opponent for the party's leadership was Stan Roberts, who represented its modernizing wing. He was the first francophone party leader in Manitoba since 1919, and the first ever in the province's Liberal Party.


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