Pierre Pettigrew

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The Honourable
Pierre Pettigrew
PC, BA, M.Phil, LLD
Minister for International Cooperation
In office
January 25, 1996 – October 3, 1996
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Preceded by position created
Succeeded by Don Boudria
Minister responsible for La Francophonie
In office
January 25, 1996 – October 3, 1996
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Preceded by position created
Succeeded by Don Boudria
Minister of Human Resources Development
In office
October 4, 1996 – August 2, 1999
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Preceded by Doug Young
Succeeded by Jane Stewart
Minister for International Trade
In office
August 3, 1999 – December 11, 2003
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Preceded by Sergio Marchi
Succeeded by Jim Peterson
Minister responsible for Official Languages
In office
December 12, 2003 – July 19, 2004
Prime Minister Paul Martin
Preceded by position created
Succeeded by Mauril Bélanger
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
In office
December 12, 2003 – July 19, 2004
Prime Minister Paul Martin
Preceded by Stéphane Dion
Succeeded by Lucienne Robillard
Minister of Health
In office
December 12, 2003 – July 19, 2004
Prime Minister Paul Martin
Preceded by Anne McLellan
Succeeded by Ujjal Dosanjh
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
July 20, 2004 – February 5, 2006
Prime Minister Paul Martin
Preceded by Bill Graham
Succeeded by Peter MacKay
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Papineau
Papineau—Saint-Michel (1996-1997)
Papineau—Saint-Denis (1997-2004)
In office
March 25, 1996 – February 6, 2006
Preceded by André Ouellet
Succeeded by Vivian Barbot
Personal details
Born Pierre Stewart Pettigrew
(1951-04-18) April 18, 1951
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Political party Liberal Party of Canada
Alma mater Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
University of Oxford
Profession Business consultant, businessman

Pierre Stewart Pettigrew, PC (born April 18, 1951 in Quebec City, Quebec) is a Canadian politician.

Born in Quebec City, Pettigrew has a BA in Philosophy from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (1972) and an M.Phil in International Relations from Oxford University (1976). He was awarded an honorary LLD by the University of Warwick in July 2008.

Prior to politics, Pettigrew was Vice-President of Samson Bélair/Deloitte & Touche in Montreal from 1985 to 1995, where he acted as a business consultant to companies with dealings in international markets.

Political career

He served in the Liberal cabinet of Jean Chrétien in various capacities and in the government of Paul Martin as Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the 2006 federal election he was defeated as the Member of Parliament for the Montreal-area electoral district of Papineau.

Pettigrew was director of the Political Committee, NATO Assembly, in Brussels, from 1976 to 1978, executive assistant to the Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1978 to 1981 and Foreign Policy Advisor to Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, from 1981 to 1984.

Following the 1995 Quebec referendum Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was committed to bringing in more star candidates from Quebec to his cabinet. He thus appointed Pettigrew and Stéphane Dion to cabinet, even before they were in the house.

André Ouellet was made head of Canada Post, opening the riding of Papineau—Saint-Michel. Pettigrew was elected to Parliament in a March 25, 1996 by-election. He was re-elected in 1997 and 2000, representing the new riding of Papineau—Saint-Denis. In 1996 he became Minister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for La Francophonie.

From 1996 to 1999, he also served as Minister of Human Resources Development. In that time, the Department of Human Resources Development represented more than half of the Canadian federal budget. Pettigrew negotiated with the provinces and the territories the National Child Benefit, the most important social program since Canada Pension Plan (1966), a 10 billions program by now. He implemented the new Employment Insurance Program which became balanced after years of deficit despite lowering the premiums. Under his watch, however, ineffective accounting practices at HRDC allegedly left millions of dollars unaccounted for. Pettigrew was fortunate to have been shuffled to the portfolio of International Trade. His successor Jane Stewart took the brunt of the "billion-dollar boondoggle" scandal.

As Minister for International Trade, he promoted free trade and always characterized the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as "a tremendous success".[1] and a model to expand upon. He was a key participant in the World Trade Organization (WTO) trade talks, claiming that Canada's main goal of lowering agricultural subsidies would be of great benefit to the world's poorer nations. At the 2003 WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancún, Pettigrew played an aggressive role as chair of the working group on the Singapore issues, controversial sectors of proposed liberalization which were bitterly opposed by some developing nation delegates, not to mention masses of protesters outside of the gates where the meetings were held. He also championed the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and in the period leading up to the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in 2001, he spearheaded a campaign to allay growing public suspicion of the deal by promising the eventual release of the draft negotiating texts. After a delay due to translating the texts into the Portuguese language, the texts were made publicly available July 3, 2001. Throughout his mandate at International Trade, he was heavily embroiled in the US - Canada softwood lumber dispute.

On December 12, 2003, he was appointed Minister of Health and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs by newly appointed Prime Minister Paul Martin. On July 20, 2004, he moved to his long-desired portfolio of Foreign Affairs minister, replacing Bill Graham.

On April 26, 2005, the Montreal newspaper Le Devoir reported that the trilingual Pettigrew, who speaks English, French and Spanish, would leave Canadian politics to serve as the Secretary General of the Organization of American States.[2] The newspaper suggested that Pettigrew had sufficient support among OAS members to win the job, although officially Canada supported the election of Luis Ernesto Derbez of Mexico in the 2005 OAS Secretary General election.

Pettigrew has long been rumoured to be a possible leadership candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada or as a leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec.

In 1999, Pettigrew wrote Pour une politique de la confiance (English translation: The New Politics of Confidence), a book on globalization and the art of governing.

On June 17, 2005, an incident occurred at a conference in Montreal regarding the subject of Haiti, at one point during the conference, Pettigrew was splashed with a red substance by Yves Engler, a political activist associated with the group Haiti Action Montreal. As Engler threw the red substance on Pettigrew, he shouted "Pettigrew lies, Haitians die". Engler claimed that the red paint was meant to symbolize the blood on the hands of the Canadian state due to Canada's involvement in Haiti. Pettigrew told police that he wanted full charges pressed against Engler. However, a couple of days later, Pettigrew suddenly decided to drop all charges.

Despite growing pressure, Pettigrew consistently stated that Canada would "stay the course" in Haiti.[3]

On December 28, 2005, Pettigrew was the victim of an attempted mugging while he was waiting for a train in the Montreal subway station. The accused, Frederick Estelle, has been charged with aggravated theft.[4][5]

On January 23, 2006, Pettigrew was defeated by Bloc Québécois candidate Vivian Barbot, ending his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as a Member of Parliament for Papineau.

Post-political career

On October 23, 2006, Deloitte Canada's Managing Partner and Chief Executive Alan MacGibbon announced that Pierre Pettigrew had been appointed as Executive Advisor for the firm's international activities.

Electoral record (incomplete)

Canadian federal election, 1997: Papineau—Saint-Denis
Party Candidate Votes%±ppExpenditures
LiberalPierre Pettigrew 26,260 53.90 – $53,271
     Bloc Québécois Mario Beaulieu 14,083 28.91 $25,032
     Progressive Conservative Yannis Felemegos 6,227 12.78 $19,274
     New Democratic Party Gaby Kombé 1,196 2.45 $3,030
     Marxist-Leninist Peter Macrisopoulos 481 0.99 $0
     N/A (Communist League) Michel Dugré 471 0.97 $270
Total valid votes 48,718 100.00
Total rejected ballots 1,676
Turnout 50,394 75.55
Electors on the lists 66,706
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and official contributions and expenses submitted by the candidates, provided by Elections Canada.

Notes

  1. ↑ meeting with Thomas d'Aquino at the Summit of the Americas 2001
  2. ↑ "Pettigrew quitting politics". CBC News. April 26, 2005. Retrieved 2007-07-29. 
  3. ↑ "Pettigrew: Canada will stay the course in Haiti". CTV News. January 3, 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-29. 
  4. ↑ "Pettigrew mugged in Montreal metro". CBC News. December 30, 2005. Archived from the original on 2008-04-21. Retrieved 2007-07-29. 
  5. ↑ "Bail denied for Montreal man accused of mugging Pettigrew". CBC News. December 30, 2005. Retrieved 2007-07-29. 

External links

27th Ministry – Cabinet of Paul Martin
Cabinet Posts (3)
Predecessor Office Successor
Bill Graham Minister of Foreign Affairs
2004–2006		 Peter MacKay
Anne McLellan Minister of Health
2003–2004		 Ujjal Dosanjh
Stéphane Dion Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
2003–2004		 Lucienne Robillard
Special Cabinet Responsibilities
Predecessor
 Title Successor
? Minister responsible for Official Languages
2003–2004		 Mauril Bélanger
26th Ministry – Cabinet of Jean Chrétien
Cabinet Posts (3)
Predecessor Office Successor
Sergio Marchi Minister for International Trade
1999–2003		 Jim Peterson
Doug Young Minister of Human Resources Development
1996–1999		 Jane Stewart
position created Minister for International Cooperation
1996		 Don Boudria
Special Cabinet Responsibilities
Predecessor
 Title Successor
position created Minister responsible for La Francophonie
1996		 Don Boudria
Parliament of Canada
Preceded by
André Ouellet		 Member of Parliament for Papineau—Saint-Michel
1996–1997 		Succeeded by
The electoral district was abolished in 1996.
Preceded by
The electoral district was created in 1996.		 Member of Parliament for Papineau—Saint-Denis
1997–2004 		Succeeded by
The electoral district was abolished in 2003.
Preceded by
The electoral district was created in 2003.		 Member of Parliament for Papineau
2004–2006 		Succeeded by
Vivian Barbot
Authority control
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