Canada: Beyond Politics — Bill Blaikie (1951–2022)

Original air date: May 2008

On this episode of Beyond Politics, Catherine Clark spoke to Bill Blaikie, the dean of the House of Commons, about his many years on the Hill and about his family back home in Winnipeg.

In 1978, Bill Blaikie was ordained as a minister in the United Church of Canada. A year later, Mr. Blaikie was approached to run for the New Democratic Party in the riding of Elmwood–Transcona, Manitoba. Mr. Blaikie won the riding, and for the next 29 years was an outspoken advocate for the rights of the poor and the disadvantaged, a champion for publicly funded healthcare, and a passionate spokesperson for the environment. In 2007, Mr. Blaikie announced that he was retiring from public life.