David Kilgour

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This article is about the Canadian politician. For the New Zealand musician, see David Kilgour (musician)

The Honourable David Kilgour, PC , BA , JD , LL.B, D.D. (born February 18, 1941 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a former Canadian politician. Kilgour matriculated at the University of Manitoba , graduating in 1967. Kilgour, a lawyer and one time Canadian Cabinet minister ended his career as an Independent MP in the Canadian House of Commons when he decided not to run for re-election in the 2006 Federal Election. Kilgour left the Liberal Party of Canada on April 12, 2005. From 1979 to 1988, he represented the riding of Edmonton—Strathcona, but with shifting constituency lines moved to the Edmonton Southeast in 1988, and then again to Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont in 2004 which he represented until he retired from politics at the 2006 election.

Kilgour was originally a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. His first attempt at election, in the 1968 federal election in the riding of Vancouver Centre as a Progressive Conservative was unsuccessful. He ran again as a Tory in the 1979 election in Edmonton, and has been a Member of Parliament ever since. In October of 1990, he, along with Pat Nowlan of Nova Scotia, quit the Tory party in protest over the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax. He sat as an independent for a few months before joining the Liberals.

In the Liberal government, he has served as Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa), Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific), Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Privy Council, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for External Relations, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees of the Whole of the House of Commons.

In April 2005, he received some media attention when he speculated about quitting the Liberal Party and joining the Conservatives because of his disgust with the sponsorship scandal, saying that the issue made Canada look like "a northern banana republic". On April 12, 2005, he announced that he was crossing the floor to sit as an independent MP. He also cited the same sex marriage issue, and Canada's lack of action on the crisis in Darfur, Sudan, as reasons for quitting. He asserted that he has no plans to move back to the Conservatives, and stated that he had no current plans to run for re-election.

Because of the unusual structure of the 38th House of Commons, in May 2005, David Kilgour's lone vote had the power to bring down or support the government. He used this influence to make Canada send extra peacekeepers to Darfur. He is an endorser of the Genocide Intervention Network. Then Prime Minister Paul Martin agreed to send support but in the end, very little was actually sent.

He is the brother of Geills Turner, who is married to former Canadian Prime Minister John Turner. Kilgour and his sister are the nephew and niece of John McCrae, the soldier and poet who wrote In Flanders Fields.

On May 3rd, the Globe and Mail's Neil Reynolds wrote a column titled "Morality, not economics, is what matters" basing the piece on Kilgour's continual commitment towards the issues affecting the worlds poor. Kilgour is again quoted saying Canada must support military intervention in Darfur. Reynolds concludes that "in the past 25 years, no Canadian could take this kind of moral time-test and pass with such flying colours as David Kilgour, the MP who changed parties twice but who walked away without changing principles once."

In May 2006, he will receive the Doctor of Divinity (D.D.) degree, from Knox College, University of Toronto, recognizing his connections with the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

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