{{Short description|Canadian politician (1946–2023)}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = The Honourable | name = Gerald Comeau | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}} | image = | caption = | office = Senator for Nova Scotia | appointer = Brian Mulroney | predecessor = | successor = | term_start = August 30, 1990 | term_end = November 30, 2013 | constituency_MP2 = West Nova | parliament2 = Canadian | term_start2 = September 4, 1984 | term_end2 = November 21, 1988 | predecessor2 = Coline Campbell | successor2 = Coline Campbell | birth_date = {{birth date|1946|02|01}} | birth_place = Meteghan Station, Nova Scotia, Canada | death_date = {{death date and age|2023|12|04|1946|02|01}} | death_place = Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada | spouse = Aurore | party = Conservative | relations = | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }}
'''Gerald J. Comeau''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC}} (February 1, 1946 – December 4, 2023) was a Canadian politician who served as a senator and as a member of Parliament.
==Early life== Born in Meteghan Station, Nova Scotia, Comeau was an accountant by training. Comeau received his B.Comm and his B.Ed from the Université de Moncton.
Comeau was a member of Nova Scotia's Acadian minority.
==Political career== Comeau was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as part of the Progressive Conservative landslide win in the 1984 election. The member of Parliament for South West Nova, Comeau was a government backbencher throughout his term and was defeated in the 1988 election due in part to the unpopularity of the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement in Atlantic Canada.
In 1990, Comeau was appointed to the Senate by Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn, on the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. He sat as a Progressive Conservative until February 2004. He then became a Conservative Party senator after the merger of the Progressive Conservative and the Canadian Alliance parties. He served as deputy leader of the Government in the Senate from February 23, 2006 to May 24, 2011.
On January 19, 2013, Governor General David Johnston, on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, appointed Comeau to the Privy Council.
Comeau retired from the Senate on November 30, 2013, seven years before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gerald Comeau announces early retirement from Senate |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/gerald-comeau-announces-early-retirement-from-senate-1.2434006 |author=<!--not stated--> |work=CBC News |date=December 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-date=November 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120034459/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/gerald-comeau-announces-early-retirement-from-senate-1.2434006 |access-date=December 8, 2023}}</ref>
== Death == Comeau died from cancer at a hospital in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia on December 4, 2023, at the age of 77.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.meteghanfuneralhome.ca/obituary/hon-gerald-j-comeau |title=Hon. Gerald J.'s Obituary |website=Meteghan Funeral & Cremation Services |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208212354/https://www.meteghanfuneralhome.ca/obituary/hon-gerald-j-comeau |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |access-date=December 8, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2032444/gerald-comeau-acadie-senat-deces |title=L'ancien sénateur acadien Gerald Comeau est décédé |language=French |trans-title=Former Acadian Senator Gerald Comeau has died |orig-date=December 5, 2023 |date=December 6, 2023 |author=<!--not stated--> |work=Radio-Canada |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208212717/https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2032444/gerald-comeau-acadie-senat-deces |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |access-date=December 8, 2023}}</ref>
== Electoral record == {{1984 Canadian federal election/West Nova}} {{1988 Canadian federal election/West Nova}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=6330}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comeau, Gerald}} Category:1946 births Category:2023 deaths Category:Politicians of Acadian descent Category:Deaths from cancer in Nova Scotia Category:Canadian senators from Nova Scotia Category:Conservative Party of Canada senators Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Canada senators Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Category:People from Digby County Category:Université de Moncton alumni Category:21st-century members of the Senate of Canada Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Category:20th-century members of the Senate of Canada
{{NovaScotia-MP-stub}}