Mr. Speaker, I rise to honour former P.E.I. MLA and cabinet minister Leone Bagnall, who passed away on April 30.
Mrs. Bagnall served in the P.E.I. legislature for 14 years. Elected in 1979, she was the first Progressive Conservative woman appointed to cabinet on P.E.I., as education minister and minister responsible for the status of women. Leone served as interim party leader for the P.E.I. Progressive Conservative Party, the first woman to lead an opposition party in Canada. Mrs. Bagnall was named to the Order of Canada in 1994 and honoured with the Order of P.E.I. in 2005.
A former teacher, farmer, and mother of five, she is remembered as a community leader and political pioneer. Whether it was family, church, community, or politics, Leone was always modest and unassuming. As a former lieutenant governor stated, “Bagnall was simply a wonderful person”, and that she was.
We extend our condolences to her family and our thanks for her service.