Gordon Fulerton Gibson OBC (August 23, 1937 – November 10, 2023), often referred to as Gordon Gibson Jr., was a Canadian political columnist, author, and politician in British Columbia. He was the son of Gordon Gibson Sr., who was a prominent businessman and Liberal Party politician in British Columbia in the 1950s and 1960s.

Gordon Gibson
Leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party
In office
September 28, 1975 – February 19, 1979
Preceded byDavid Anderson
Succeeded byJev Tothill
Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for North Vancouver-Capilano
In office
1974–1979
Preceded byDavid Maurice Brousson
Succeeded byAngus Creelman Ree
Personal details
Born
Gordon Fulerton Gibson

(1937-08-23)August 23, 1937
DiedNovember 10, 2023(2023-11-10) (aged 86)
Political partyBC Liberal Party
Other political
affiliations
Liberal Party of Canada
Parent

Education

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Gibson received a BA (honours) in mathematics and physics at the University of British Columbia and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and he did research work at the London School of Economics.[1]

Political career

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Gibson served as an assistant to the federal Minister of Northern Affairs from 1963 to 1968, and was a special assistant to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau from 1968 to 1972.[2] In the 1972 federal election, he ran as the Liberal candidate in Vancouver South, but lost to Progressive Conservative candidate John Fraser by 3,000 votes.

In 1974, Gibson won a by-election to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the riding of North Vancouver-Capilano under the Liberal banner. The following year, three Liberal MLAs defected to the Social Credit Party three months before that year's general election, leaving Gibson and party leader David Anderson as the only two Liberals in the legislature. Anderson declined to be renominated to the leadership, and Gibson was approached to lead the party into the election. He was the only Liberal elected that year. He remained party leader until 1979, when he resigned to run again for a seat in the federal House of Commons, in the riding of North Vancouver—Burnaby. He was defeated in both the 1979 and 1980 federal elections by Progressive Conservative candidate Chuck Cook by less than 2,000 votes on each attempt.

Gibson attempted to return to politics as a candidate in the 1993 B.C. Liberal leadership convention; he came in second to future premier Gordon Campbell.

Post-political career

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Gibson was a senior fellow in Canadian Studies at the Fraser Institute[3] and has written several books on Canadian federalism and governance. Following the 2001 British Columbia provincial election, he was hired by the government to make recommendations on the structure and mandate of the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. His report was substantially adopted.

His columns appeared frequently in the Vancouver Sun,[4] the Winnipeg Free Press and The Globe and Mail.[5]

Death

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Gibson died on November 10, 2023, at the age of 86.[6][7] Suffering from heart failure from early 2023, he opted for medical assistance in dying.[8]

Honours

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In May 2008, Gibson was awarded the Order of British Columbia.[9]

Electoral history

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1972 Canadian federal election: Vancouver South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative John Allen Fraser 17,762 40.03 +16.29
Liberal Gordon Gibson 14,549 32.79 -16.47
New Democratic Roger Howard 11,145 25.12 +2.47
Social Credit Tony Jefferson 765 1.72 -2.23
Independent Sean Griffin 102 0.23
Independent Rick Hundal 44 0.10
Total valid votes 44,367 100.0  
Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +16.38
British Columbia provincial by-election, 1974: North Vancouver-Capilano
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal Gordon Fulerton Gibson 4,736 31.11
Social Credit Ronald Clayton Andrews 4,679 30.74
Progressive Conservative Peter Stewart Hyndman 3,151 20.70
New Democratic Diane Mackenzie Baigent 2,637 17.32
Christian Democratic Norman Gareth Dent 19 0.13
1975 British Columbia general election: North Vancouver-Capilano
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal Gordon Fulerton Gibson 8,836 44.74
Social Credit Ronald Clayton Andrews 8,530 43.19
New Democratic Michael Ian Copes 2,393 12.07
1979 Canadian federal election: North Vancouver—Burnaby
Party Candidate Votes %
Progressive Conservative Chuck Cook 16,545 38.18
Liberal Gordon F. Gibson 14,377 33.18
New Democratic Russ Hicks 12,084 27.89
Social Credit Poldi Meindl 188 0.43
Communist Eric H. Waugh 92 0.21
Independent A. Neila Taylor 29 0.07
Marxist–Leninist Kitti Hundal 20 0.05
Total valid votes 43,335 100.0  
This riding was created from parts of Burnaby—Seymour and Capilano, which elected a Liberal and a Progressive Conservative, respectively, in the previous election.
1980 Canadian federal election: North Vancouver—Burnaby
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Chuck Cook 16,774 38.10 -0.08
Liberal Gordon F. Gibson 15,307 34.77 +1.59
New Democratic Jack Woodward 11,820 26.85 -1.04
Social Credit Poldi Meindl 88 0.20 -0.23
Marxist–Leninist Kitti Hundal 38 0.09 +0.04
Total valid votes 44,027 100.0  
Progressive Conservative hold Swing -0.84

Writings

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  • A New Look at Canadian Indian Policy: Respect the Collective - Promote the Individual (2009). ISBN 978-0-88975-243-6

References

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  1. ^ "Conversations from the Frontier Centre for Public Policy: Gordon Gibson, Author, Columnist and Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute". Frontier Centre for Public Policy. April 5, 2004. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2023.[dead link]
  2. ^ "Gordon Gibson". Ministry of the Attorney General of British Columbia. Government of British Columbia. September 20, 2002. Archived from the original on December 23, 2002. Retrieved November 20, 2023.[dead link]
  3. ^ "Gordon Gibson". Fraser Institute. Archived from the original on August 3, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  4. ^ "Gordon Gibson". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  5. ^ Gibson, Gordon (December 7, 2009). "Yankee protectionism, this time dressed in green". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  6. ^ "Gordon Gibson". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 20, 2023 – via Legacy.com.
  7. ^ Palmer, Vaughn (November 17, 2023). "Vaughn Palmer: Gordon Gibson Jr. was a strong and independent voice". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  8. ^ Cohen, Andrew (December 26, 2023). "B.C. Liberal Gordon Gibson was a formidable presence in Canada's political life". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  9. ^ "2008 Recipient: Gordon F. Gibson – Vancouver". Government of British Columbia. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2014.