Leonard Marchand
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The Honourable Leonard Marchand PC CM OBC |
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| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Kamloops–Cariboo |
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In office 1968–1979 |
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| Preceded by | District was created in 1966 |
| Succeeded by | District was abolished in 1976 |
| Senator for Kamloops-Cariboo, British Columbia | |
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In office 1984–1998 |
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| Appointed by | Pierre Trudeau |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Leonard Stephen Marchand November 16, 1933 Vernon, British Columbia |
| Died | June 3, 2016 (aged 82) Kamloops, British Columbia |
| Political party | Liberal |
Leonard Stephen "Len" Marchand, PC CM OBC (November 16, 1933 – June 3, 2016) was a Canadian politician. He was the first person of First Nations status to serve in the federal cabinet, after being the first Status Indian elected and serving as a Member of Parliament. He served as Parliamentary Secretary, Minister of State, Minister of the Environment and Senator.
Marchand was born in Vernon, British Columbia, as a member of the Okanagan Indian Band. An agronomist by training, he left his profession in the mid-1960s to work with the North American Indian Brotherhood. His work in native affairs took him to Ottawa to lobby on Aboriginal issues. He was hired as a special assistant to two successive Cabinet ministers.
Marchand entered politics and was elected to the House of Commons in the 1968 election as a Liberal Party candidate for the British Columbia riding of Kamloops-Cariboo. He defeated high-profile Progressive Conservative candidate E. Davie Fulton. He was the first Status Indian to be elected as an MP.
He became parliamentary secretary to Jean Chrétien, who was the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, helping persuade Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to begin land settlement negotiations between the federal government and the First Nations.
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