Jacques Flynn

Jacques Flynn,  (August 22, 1915 – September 21, 2000) was a Canadian politician and Senator.

Flynn was born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, the grandson of the Premier of Quebec Edmund James Flynn. He both graduated in law from Université Laval and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1939.

A Progressive Conservative, Flynn ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the House of Commons of Canada in the 1957 election. He won the riding of Quebec South in the 1958 election when John George Diefenbaker led the PC Party to a landslide victory.

Flynn became Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada in 1960.  In December 1961, Prime Minister Diefenbaker brought Flynn into the Canadian Cabinet as Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys, a position he held until losing his seat in the 1962 election that reduced the Conservatives to a minority government. Later that year, he was appointed to the Senate.

Flynn served as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from 1967 until the 1979 election that brought the Tories back to power. Prime Minister Joe Clark brought Flynn into Cabinet as Minister of Justice. It was unusual for a Senator to hold such a senior cabinet portfolio, but as the Conservatives were elected with virtually no representation from Quebec, it was necessary to attempt to achieve regional balance in Cabinet by appointing Senators to the body.

With the defeat of the Clark government in the 1980 election, Flynn returned to the position of Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. He continued in that role until 1984. He remained in the Upper House until his retirement in 1990.

In 1993, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

References

External links 
 

Category:1915 births
Category:2000 deaths
Category:Canadian legal scholars
Category:Canadian senators from Quebec
Category:Lawyers in Quebec
Category:Members of the 18th Canadian Ministry
Category:Members of the 21st Canadian Ministry
Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec
Category:Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
Category:Officers of the Order of Canada
Category:People from Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec
Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs
Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Canada senators
Category:Quebec people of Irish descent
Category:Université Laval alumni
Category:20th-century Canadian lawyers
Category:Canadian Queen's Counsel
Category:Université Laval faculty