Clarence Gillis

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Clarence Gillis
Cape Breton South MP, in 1940. Source: Library and Archives Canada
Member of Parliament for Cape Breton South
In office 1940 – 1957
Preceded by	David James Hartigan (Liberal)
Succeeded by	Donald MacInnis (Conservative)
Born	October 3, 1895(1895-10-03) Londonderry, Nova Scotia
Died	December 17, 1960 (aged 65) Glace Bay, Nova Scotia
Political party	Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Spouse	Mamie Gillis (nee Stewart)
Residence	Sydney, Nova Scotia
Profession	Coal Miner/Trade unionist
Religion	Roman Catholic

Clarence (Clarie) Gillis, MP (October 3, 1895–December 17, 1960) was a Canadian social democratic politician and trade unionist from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. He also served as a member of the infantry in the Canadian Corps in Flanders during the First World War.^[1] In 1940, he became the first Co-operative Commonwealth Federation member elected to the Canadian House of Commons, east of Manitoba.^[2]

He was born on the Nova Scotia mainland, in the town of Londonderry, in 1895. His father, J.H. Gillis, moved the family to the Industrial Cape Breton area in 1904.^[3] J.H. Gillis worked in the coal mines and was an associate of union leader J.B. McLachlan.^[4] Clarie, as Clarence Gillis was known, started working in the region's coal mines in 1913.^[5] The next year, he joined the Canadian Corps and rose from private to acting lieutenant. He suffered a head wound from shrapnel in Flanders. He would recover enough to go back to the mines after the war.^[6]

The period between 1920-1940 was the time that Gillis rose through the ranks of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) Local 26.

He represented the federal riding of Cape Breton South, which mostly included the city of Sydney , from 1940 until his defeat in 1957.

He was one of the few MPs that attacked the Canadian government's racist policies towards Japanese Canadians in the period between 1942-45. In the Canadian House of Commons, he stated the following:

While we know that the war with Japan is a serious matter and that many atrocities have been committed by the people of that country, there is no reason why we should try to duplicate the performances of that country.^[7]

His first wife, Maime Gillis, nee Stewart, died in 1953.^[8] He remarried in 1958.^[9] Theresa Sargeant was his new bride. He died of pleurisy, in the Glace Bay Hospital, on December 17, 1960, in Cape Breton.^[10]

[edit] Election results

Federal Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (C.C.F.) Party delegation attending the September 1944 Conference of Commonwealth Labour Parties in London, England. Pictured from Left to right: Clarie Gillis, MP for Cape Breton South;David Lewis, National Secretary; M.J. Coldwell, National Leader, MP for Rosetown—Biggar; Percy E. Wright, MP for Melfort; and Frank Scott, National Chairman.

[edit] References and notes

1. ^ Harrop, p.15-16
2. ^ Agnes Macphail, though a supporter of the CCF, was elected to the House of Commons as a member of the United Farmers of Ontario (UFO)-Labour party, not the CCF. Although, she did sit with the CCF caucus during her final years in parliament.
3. ^ Harrop, p. 17
4. ^ Harrop, p. 17
5. ^ Harrop, p. 18
6. ^ Harrop, p. 18
7. ^ The Second World War and its aftermath (HTML). Explore a History of the Vote in Canada. Civilization.ca. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
8. ^ Harrop, p.59
9. ^ Harrop, p.61
10. ^ Harrop, p.61

• Harrop, G. Gerald (1987). Clarie: Clarence Gillis MP 1940-1957. Hantsport, Nova Scotia: Lancelot Press Limited. ISBN 0889993186. 
  
• CAPE BRETON SOUTH, Nova Scotia (1924-1966 (HTML). History of Federal Ridings since 1867. Elections Canada, Government of Canada. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links