'Gilles Pouliot' (born
May 25,
1942 in
Montreal,
Quebec) is a retired
politician in
Ontario,
Canada. He served as a member of the
Ontario legislature from
1985 to
1999, representing the
Northern Ontario riding of
Lake Nipigon for the
New Democratic Party.
He was first elected in the
1985 provincial election, defeating
Progressive Conservative Jim Files by over 1,200 votes. He was re-elected by greater margins in the provincial elections of
1987 and
1990. He supported
Dave Barrett for the leadership of the federal
New Democratic Party in
1989.
The NDP unexpectedly won a majority government in the
1990 election, and Pouliot was named as
Minister of Mines and
Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs in
Bob Rae's government on
October 1,
1990. In early
1991, he introduced legislation allowing mining companies to expropriate unused resource land from private ownership.
He retained responsibility for Francophone Affairs throughout the Rae government. On
July 31,
1991, he was transferred from Mines to the
Ministry of Transportation. On
October 21,
1994, near the end of the Rae government's time in office, he was shifted back to
Northern Development and Mines.
The NDP were defeated in the
1995 election, although Pouliot retained the Lake Nipigon riding without too much difficulty. In
1996, he supported
Howard Hampton's successful campaign to replace Rae as party leader.
Pouliot's riding was eliminated by redistribution in
1996. He rarely spoke in parliament thereafter, and he chose not to run again in the
1999 election. He lived in
Manitouwadge during his time in office.