Rod Laporte

Rodney Edward Laporte (born 24 October 1953 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan) is a Saskatchewan lawyer and a former Canadian Member of Parliament (MP). Before becoming a politician, Laporte had been a student of history and Law at the University of Regina [1].

Laporte became the New Democratic Party (NDP) MP for Moose Jaw—Lake Centre in the 1988 federal election, winning a riding that had been a Progressive Conservative (PC) stronghold for thiry years[2]. It was a very narrow win, garnering only 408 votes more that PC Candidate Bill Gottselig[3]. In the 1993 election, he lost the seat to Reform Party candidate Allan Kerpan. His loss was even narrower that his initial win: only 320 votes separated him from the winner[4].

During the 2002-2003 NDP Leadership Race, Laporte endorsed Bill Blaikie. Laporte now practises law for the Saskatchewan Legal Aid Commission in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan [5]. He is also the President of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1949.