Roger Gallaway

Roger Gallaway
PC
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Sarnia—Lambton
In office
1993 election  2006 election
Preceded by Ken James
Succeeded by Patricia Davidson
Personal details
Born (1948-05-23) May 23, 1948
Sarnia, Ontario
Nationality  Canada
Political party Liberal
Alma mater University of Western Ontario, University of Windsor
Profession Lawyer, Mayor

Roger John Gallaway, PC (born May 23, 1948 in Sarnia, Ontario) is an educator and retired Canadian politician. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 2006, representing the riding of Sarnia—Lambton for the Liberal Party.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario and an LL.B from the University of Windsor. He practiced law before entering political life, and was involved in a variety of community organizations in the Sarnia area. In 1991, he was elected mayor of Point Edward. Gallaway graduated from S.C.I.T.S. High School, Sarnia's oldest.

Political career

Two years into his tenure as mayor of the small town of Point Edward, Ontario, Gallaway took a shot at federal politics. He was first elected to parliament in the 1993 federal election, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent Ken James by over 10,000 votes. He was re-elected by similarly large pluralities in the elections of 1997 and 2000, and defeated Conservative candidate Marcel Beaubien by over 5,000 votes in the 2004 election. He was defeated by Conservative Patricia Davidson by over 4,000 votes in the 2006 election. Soon afterwards, Gallaway blamed the Liberals' ouster from Canadian government on the leadership of Paul Martin, and was the first from within the party to call for Martin's resignation as party leader.

He ran for Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons in 1997, and was eliminated on the second ballot.

Gallaway was occasionally labeled a maverick MP in the Liberal Party, particularly in later years, and was a vocal opponent of the federal gun registry for many years, and unsuccessfully attempted to cut off funding for the program in late 2004. Gallaway has also called for government funding to be withdrawn from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and opposed negative option billing by cable companies in the late 1990s.

He also holds socially conservative views on some issues, although he has not emphasized these as strongly as others within the party, such as Tom Wappel and Rose-Marie Ur. Gallaway was an opponent of same-sex marriage and voted against the Civil Marriage Act, which legalized it, in 2005.

He is a personal friend and was a frequent political ally of Senator Anne Cools, and has worked with her to propose reforms to Canada's divorce laws which would have ensured greater custody rights for fathers. In furtherance of these concerns, Gallaway served as co-chair of the Special Joint Committee on Custody and Access, which recommended shared parenting as the norm in its report, For the Sake of the Children, issued in 1998.

From December 2003 to July 2004, Gallaway served as parliamentary secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, with special emphasis on democratic reform..

Gallaway is also a musician. He formed the band "True Grit" with several Liberal MPs, including Joe Fontana and future prime minister Jean Chrétien (who played trombone). Gallaway has also appeared in performances with Sarnia/Port Huron's International Symphony, and was the narrator of a "Child's Introduction to the Symphony".

Gallaway supported Bob Rae's unsuccessful bid to become leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in the 2006 Liberal leadership election.

Recent career

Since leaving politics, Gallaway has served as an instructor in international business law at Lambton College. He has also thrown his hat in the ring for the 2010 Point Edward municipal elections, trying to become mayor of the tiny town once again. He faced stiff competition in the race against the incumbent mayor, Dick Kirkland, and veteran councillor, Janice Robson, and he ultimately lost to Kirkland.

Electoral record

Point Edward Municipal Election Results (Mayor), 2010

Candidate Vote %
Roger Gallaway 361
Dick Kirkland (X) 433
Janice Robson 170
Total Valid Votes 964

Source: Sarnia Lambton Votes

Sarnia—Lambton

Canadian federal election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
ConservativePat Davidson 21,841 41.0% +10.5%
LiberalRoger Gallaway 17,649 33.1% -8.8%
New DemocraticGreg Agar 10,673 20.0% +3.7%
GreenMike Jacobs 1,712 3.2% -2.2%
Christian HeritageGary DeBoer 1,108 2.1% -1.7%
IndependentJohn Elliot 316 0.6% +0.1%
Total valid votes 53,299100.0%

Source: Elections Canada

Canadian federal election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalRoger Gallaway 19,932 41.9% +38.3%
ConservativeMarcel Beaubien 14,500 30.5% -7.9%
New DemocraticGreg Agar 7,764 16.3% +9.1%
GreenAnthony Cramer 2,548 5.4% +4.0%
Christian HeritageGary DeBoer 1,819 3.8%
IndependentDave Core 749 1.6%
IndependentJohn Elliot 229 0.5% 0.0%
Total valid votes 47,541 100.0%

Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.

Source: Elections Canada

Canadian federal election, 2000
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalRoger Gallaway 19 329 51.0% +3.6%
AllianceDave Christie 11 208 29.6% +4.9%
Progressive ConservativePaul Bailey 3 320 8.8% -5.8%
New DemocraticGlenn Sonier 2 735 7.2% -0.9%
GreenAllan McKeown 514 1.4%
IndependentEd Banninga 356 0.9%
IndependentJohn Elliott 189 0.5% -0.5%
Canadian ActionRene Phillion 145 0.4% 0.0%
Natural LawShannon Bourke 92 0.2% -0.1%
Marxist–LeninistAndre C. Vachon 32 0.1% 0.1%
Total valid votes 37,920 100.0%

Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election.

Source: Elections Canada

Canadian federal election, 1997
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalRoger Gallaway 19,494 47.4% -0.2%
ReformDave Christie 10,172 24.7% +3.5%
Progressive ConservativeDick Carpani 6,008 14.6% -8.1%
New DemocraticPhil Gamester 3,320 8.1% +1.9%
Christian HeritagePaul Van Oosten 1,472 3.6% +2.1%
IndependentJohn Elliott 402 1.0% +0.5%
Canadian ActionPhilip G. Holley 175 0.4%
Natural LawShannon Bourke 125 0.3% -0.1%
Total valid votes 41,168100.0%

Source: Elections Canada

Canadian federal election, 1993
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalRoger Gallaway 20,331 47.5% +15.7%
Progressive ConservativeKen James 9,706 22.7% -22.4%
ReformBruce Brogden 9,061 21.2%
New DemocraticJulie Foley 2,634 6.2% -16.1%
Christian HeritageLouis Duke 610 1.4%
IndependentJohn Kenneth Elliot 192 0.4% -0.5%
Natural LawShannon M. Bourke 178 0.4%
IndependentO'Doug Dell 68 0.2%
Total valid votes 42,780 100.0%

Source: Elections Canada

External links

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