Gary Lunn

The Honourable
Gary Lunn
PC
Lunn in 2010
Minister of State (Sport)
In office
October 30, 2008 – May 18, 2011
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byHelena Guergis
Succeeded byBal Gosal
Minister of Natural Resources
In office
January 6, 2006 – October 29, 2008
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byJohn Efford
Succeeded byLisa Raitt
Member of Parliament
for Saanich—Gulf Islands
In office
June 2, 1997 – May 2, 2011
Preceded byJack Frazer
Succeeded byElizabeth May
Personal details
Born
Gary Vincent Lunn

(1957-05-08) May 8, 1957 (age 67)
Trail, British Columbia, Canada
Political partyConservative (since 2003)
Other political
affiliations
SpouseAlexandra Lunn
ChildrenChristopher Lunn
David Lunn
Victoria Lunn
ResidenceSidney, British Columbia
ProfessionLawyer
PortfolioMinister of State (Sport)
Minister of Natural Resources

Gary Vincent Lunn PC (born May 8, 1957) is a retired Canadian member of Parliament for the British Columbia riding of Saanich—Gulf Islands. He served in the House of Commons from 1997 to 2011, first as a member of the Reform Party of Canada and subsequently as a member of the Canadian Alliance and the Conservative Party of Canada. He was a Cabinet Minister under Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Official Opposition Critic for Métis and Non-Status Indians, Minister of State for Northern Development, and Critic of the Secretary of State for Human Resources Development. Lunn lost his seat in the 2011 federal election in Canada in an upset to the Leader of the Green Party, Elizabeth May.[1][2][3][4]

Personal life

He is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada as well as the Knights of Columbus. He attended the University of Victoria, where he completed a Bachelor of Law. He practised law in Victoria for two years before seeking the federal nomination for Saanich—Gulf Islands. He and his family reside in Sidney, British Columbia.[5]

Political career

He was first elected to Parliament in the federal election of 1997 as a member of the Reform Party of Canada and was re-elected in 2000 as a member of the Canadian Alliance. In April 2001, Lunn was one of the first Alliance MPs to openly criticize the leadership of Stockwell Day, and was suspended from caucus in May of the same year as a result. He briefly sat with the Democratic Representative Caucus under the leadership of Chuck Strahl, but in November 2001, he left to rejoin the Alliance after Day agreed to hold a leadership race. He was permitted to return to the party in January 2002, during the leadership of John Reynolds, following Day's resignation. In the federal election of 2006, he won re-election against Liberal candidate Sheila Orr and NDP candidate Jennifer Burgis.

Minister of Natural Resources

Lunn was Minister of Natural Resources in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper from February 6, 2006 to October 30, 2008, when he became Minister of State (Sport) and Minister responsible for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.[6]

Chalk River reactor shutdown

Lunn fired Linda Keen, the head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, on January 15, 2008. Keen, who was due to appear before a parliamentary committee the next day, had ordered a shutdown of the NRU reactor at Chalk River, Ontario, which is operated by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, in November 2007 over the AECL's failure to perform safety upgrades. [citation needed]

Appearing before a parliamentary committee January 16, 2008, Lunn refused to cite one example of what Linda Keen had done wrong in her job, only that she had lost the confidence of the government. "These are the kinds of Republican tactics this town has never seen before," Liberal MP David McGuinty (Ottawa South) told the natural resources committee. "The Prime Minister and the people around the Prime Minister will stop at nothing. ... They will fabricate, in my mind, a case to dismiss a senior official, an independent regulator," McGuinty told reporters later. Lunn told the committee: "We do not believe she fulfilled her duties. There was an urgency to this situation, make no mistake ... it would have meant life and death for some patients."[7]

AECL fell under Lunn's management as Minister of Natural Resources. The reactor shutdown caused problems with supply shortage of medical radioisotopes, which are used for testing to determine whether a patient has a disease. Canada produces more than half the world's supply. The House of Commons of Canada passed emergency legislation in mid-December 2007, with unanimous support, to get NRU restarted quickly. There has been no backup reactor for NRU since NRX was decommissioned in 1992, making it very difficult for upgrades and maintenance to be performed on NRU. [citation needed]

Electoral record

1997 Canadian federal election: Saanich—Gulf Islands
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Reform Gary Lunn 24,275 43.06 +5.91 $61,075
Liberal Clark Roberts 17,742 31.47 +5.45 $59,743
New Democratic Chuck Beyer 8,080 14.33 −4.53 $29,672
Progressive Conservative Marilyn Loveless 4,243 7.52 −4.00 $23,349
Green Julia Lerner 1,546 2.74 – $745
Natural Law Andy Guest 248 0.43 −0.31 $321
Canadian Action Valerie Rampone 234 0.41 – $4,335
Total valid votes 56,368 100.00  
Total rejected ballots 181 0.32
Turnout 56,549 74.26
Reform hold Swing +0.23


2000 Canadian federal election: Saanich—Gulf Islands
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Alliance Gary Lunn 25,392 43.15 +0.09 $61,497
Liberal Karen Knott 19,002 32.29 +0.82 $63,669
Progressive Conservative Don Page 6,049 10.28 +2.76 $10,385
New Democratic Pat O'Neill 4,721 8.02 −6.31 $9,666
Green Wally Du Temple 3,243 5.51 +2.77 $7,217
Natural Law Kathleen Lapeyrouse 217 0.36 −0.07 $100
Independent Dan Moreau 123 0.20 –
Communist Charley Stimac 88 0.14 – $189
Total valid votes 58,835 100.00  
Total rejected ballots 165 0.28
Turnout 59,000 70.60
Alliance hold Swing −0.36
Canadian Alliance change is based on the Reform Party.


2004 Canadian federal election: Saanich—Gulf Islands
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Gary Lunn 22,050 34.57 −18.86 $81,613
Liberal David Mulroney 17,082 26.78 −5.51 $61,819
New Democratic Jennifer Burgis 13,763 21.58 +13.56 $40,318
Green Andrew Lewis 10,662 16.71 +11.20 $79,731
Independent Mary Moreau 214 0.33 – $12
Total valid votes 63,771 100.00  
Total rejected ballots 159 0.25
Turnout 63,930 73.97
Conservative hold Swing −6.68
Conservative change is from a combination of Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative votes.


2006 Canadian federal election: Saanich—Gulf Islands
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Gary Lunn 24,416 37.15 +2.58 $80,272
New Democratic Jennifer Burgis 17,455 26.54 +4.96 $50,412
Liberal Sheila Orr 17,144 26.08 −0.70 $79,489
Green Andrew Lewis 6,533 9.94 −6.77 $19,061
Western Block Patricia O'Brien 183 0.27 – $0
Total valid votes 65,721 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 134 0.20
Turnout 65,855 73.2
Conservative hold Swing −1.19


2008 Canadian federal election: Saanich—Gulf Islands
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gary Lunn 27,988 43.43 +6.28
Liberal Briony Penn 25,367 39.36 +13.28
Green Andrew Lewis 6,732 10.45 +0.51
New Democratic Julian West 3,667 5.69 −20.85
Libertarian Dale P. Leier 246 0.38 –
Western Block Patricia O'Brien 195 0.3 +0.03
Canadian Action Jeremy Arney 139 0.2 –
Christian Heritage Dan Moreau 114 0.2 –
Total valid votes 64,448 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 179 0.27
Turnout 64,639 70.40
Conservative hold Swing −3.50
Julian West was selected as the New Democratic Party candidate for the 2008 election, but withdrew after the filing deadline following a scandal.[8] Due to the late withdrawal his name remained on the ballot.


2011 Canadian federal election: Saanich—Gulf Islands
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Green Elizabeth May 31,890 46.33 +35.88 $87,738
Conservative Gary Lunn 24,544 35.66 −7.77 $89,604
New Democratic Edith Loring-Kuhanga 8,185 11.89 +6.20 $66,273
Liberal Renée Hetherington 4,208 6.11 −33.25 $50,002
Total valid votes/expense limit 68,827 100.0     $293,617
Total rejected ballots 160 0.23
Turnout 68,987 75.25
Eligible voters 91,673
Green gain from Conservative Swing +21.82

References

  1. ^ "Elizabeth May sees 'clear two-way race' with Tory incumbent Gary Lunn". Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  2. ^ Chamberlain, Cindy E. Harnett, Judith Lavoie, Carla Wilson and Adrian. "Elizabeth May makes political history as first Green MP; unseats cabinet minister". www.vancouversun.com. Retrieved 30 March 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Wintonyk, Darcy (2 May 2011). "Green Party makes history: Elizabeth May wins seat". British Columbia. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  4. ^ Geyer, Felix von (3 May 2011). "Canada's Green party looks to bright future following Elizabeth May victory | Felix von Geyer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  5. ^ Gary Lunn official government webpage Archived 2007-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Gary Lunn - Former Minister of Natural Resources". Sustainable Development Technology Canada. 9 February 2015. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  7. ^ Richard Brennan, Bruce Campion-Smith. "PM blasted for firing of nuclear watchdog". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 21 January 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
  8. ^ McCulloch, Sandra (24 September 2008). "NDP candidate who quit over nudity will not be replaced". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 20 September 2017.