Liberal Party candidates, 2000 Canadian federal election

The Liberal Party of Canada ran a full slate of candidates in the 2000 federal election, and won a majority government by winning 172 out of 308 seats. Many of the party's candidates have their own biography pages; information about others may be found here.

Manitoba

Richard B. (Dick) Scott (Brandon—Souris)

Scott was born on March 3, 1945, and received a Grade Twelve education. [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/series/election/2000Federal/candidates-new/2183.html "Dick Scott: Liberal Party of Canada"] , "Election 2000", "Globe and Mail", accessed 15 October 2007.] Scott served with the Winnipeg Police Service for 25 years before moving to Brandon, and became the latter city's police chief in 1995. [Daniel Lett, "10-year battle to clear name", "Winnipeg Free Press", 19 March 2005, A1. The article title does not refer to Scott.] During the 1990s, he indicated that his force supported the Canadian gun registry introduced by the government of Jean Chrétien. [Wanda Chow, "Gun bill sessions under fire", "Winnipeg Free Press", A4.] He later stated his disappointment that the Brandon force did not hire more women and aboriginal persons to fill a slate of vacancies in 1998. [Helen Fallding, "Police chief upset no women made cut", "Winnipeg Free Press", 24 September 1998, A9.] In 1999, he endorsed a decision by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police to decriminalize simple possession of marijuana, arguing that it would free the judicial system to deal with more important cases. [Mike McIntyre and Leah Janzen, "Police chiefs draft new plan to mellow out marijuana laws", "Winnipeg Free Press", 23 April 1999.] Scott also served as president of the Canada Games Society in 1997, and was appointed to a special Ministerial Millennium Advisory Committee the following year. ["Manitobans to mull over the millennium", "Winnipeg Free Press", 6 June 1998, A4; Dave Supleve, "Brandon tired, but still lays out welcome mat", "Winnipeg Free Press", 22 June 1997, A1.]

He received 6,544 votes (17.86%) in 2000, finishing third against Progressive Conservative incumbent Rick Borotsik. As of 2006, he is the Director of Training for Office Box Office Ltd., and Director of Policing at the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in The Pas. [ [http://www.obo.ca/key_dickscott.htm "Meet our management team", Office Box Office Ltd.] , 2006, accessed 14 October 2007.] He has also participated in an independent committee on reforming women's corrections, appointed by the provincial government. ["Independent Committee Calls for Relocation of 113-year-old Women's Facility" [press release] , Government of Manitoba] , 3 April 2006, accessed 14 October 2007.]

Gerry John Edward Gebler (Portage—Lisgar)

Gebler was born on July 16, 1943, and was raised in the Kelwood area of Manitoba. He worked as an insurance broker, served as a councillor in Morden, Manitoba from 1971 to 1980, and was the community's mayor from 1999 until his defeat in 2002. A born-again Christian, Gebler nevertheless argued that governments should not legislate on moral issues such as abortion (he observed that when a young, unwed member of his family became pregnant, none of the involved parties considered seeking political advice) ("Winnipeg Free Press", 15 November 2000). He received 6,133 votes (17.82%) in the 2000 election, finishing second against Canadian Alliance candidate Brian Pallister.

Gebler died on October 7, 2005, at age 62. [http://www.passagesmb.com/obituary_details.cfm?ObitID=100976] His funeral service was held at the Morden Alliance Church. [http://www.mordentimes.com/story.php?id=190238]

Bret Dobbin (Winnipeg—Transcona)

Dobbin was born on June 8, 1962 in Portland, Oregon. He has a Bachelor of Science degree, and was a software consultant for Healthcare during the 2000 election. [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/series/election/2000Federal/candidates-new/2883.html Bret Dobbin: Candidate Profile] , Election 2000, "Globe and Mail", accessed 8 March 2007.]

Dobbin has campaigned for the federal and provincial Liberal parties. He defeated Taran Malik to win the federal party's nomination in 2000, ["Election Notebook", "Winnipeg Free Press", 31 October 2000, A11.] and lost to New Democratic Party incumbent Bill Blaikie in the general election. During this campaign, Dobbin attempted to warn voters that the NDP could fall short of official party status in parliament, and suggested that re-electing Blaikie would be an exercise in futility. [Ian Bailey, "NDP's Bill Blaikie back in Winnipeg-Transcona", "National Post", 28 November 2000, B5.]

Saskatchewan

Bill Patrick (Saskatoon—Wanuskewin)

Patrick was born on October 5, 1929 in Saskatoon. [http://www.theglobeandmail.ca/series/election/2000Federal/candidates-new/2915.html] He worked in construction and mining, and purchased Patrick Construction Co. Ltd. from his father in 1950. The company eventually grew into a multi-million dollar organization, with branches in such fields as electrical, mechanical, water and sewage services. Patrick oversaw pipe work construction in Saudi Arabia in 1983, and retired in 1985. He played hockey with Gordie Howe as a child and remained active with the sport in adult life, serving as president of Saskatoon's Senior Quakers in the 1960s.

Patrick has campaigned four times for the Liberal Party at the provincial and federal levels. In 1998, he described Jean Chrétien as the best Prime Minister he had worked with ("Saskatoon Star-Phoenix", 3 March 1998).

Patrick is personally pro-life, and was supported by the Campaign Life Coalition in the 1988 federal election against Justice Minister Ray Hnatyshyn ("Toronto Star", 1 December 1988). Both were defeated by Chris Axworthy of the New Democratic Party. During the 2000 campaign, Patrick responded to a question about abortion by indicating that governments should not intervene in such matters ("SSP", 22 November 2000).

He attracted controversy in 2000 for comments about Canada's aboriginal reserve system. In response to an opponent's criticism, he argued that many reserves were flourishing economically and that the existing system was "working 100 per cent". Some interpreted this to mean that he was ignoring serious on-reserve social problems. Patrick later clarified that his intent was to draw attention to recent success stories in his community, not to indicate that on-reserve conditions were perfect ("SSP", 23 November 2000).

Patrick appears to have campaigned for the Liberal Party of British Columbia in that province's 1991 provincial election. "William J. Patrick" was the party's candidate in Parksville—Qualicum, and was listed as a contractor. For reasons of convenience, this candidacy is listed in the chart below.

Footnotes