Mr. Speaker, on June 21, at the beginning of the summer break, the House lost a seasoned parliamentarian, an influential minister, an economist, a renowned academic and a diplomat, when John McCallum passed away at the age of 75.
Mr. McCallum was a pillar of the Liberal Party who served under three prime ministers: Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Justin Trudeau. He left an indelible mark on the recent history of federal politics.
He first made his mark in his hometown of Montreal as a professor at UQAM and then as the dean of the faculty of arts at McGill University. Following an academic career of nearly 20 years, during which he made a name for himself in the field of commerce, Mr. McCallum put his expertise to the test as the chief economist for the Royal Bank of Canada in 1994.
Then, politics called. With the support of Jean Chrétien, John McCallum was elected to the House of Commons in 2000 as the member for Markham, a northern suburb of Toronto. Two years later, Jean Chrétien appointed him as defence minister. A new prime minister, Paul Martin, appointed him to serve as veterans affairs minister in 2003 and revenue minister in 2004, a position he held until the Liberals were defeated in 2006.
This was followed by an extended period in the opposition, during which Mr. McCallum did his duty as one of the key critics for his political party.
Nearly a decade later, he returned to Cabinet as the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, this time under Justin Trudeau. It must have been he ultimate irony to return to Cabinet at the request of a new boss who was just a student at McGill when Mr. McCallum was a dean there.
John McCallum retired from politics in 2017 to become Canada's ambassador to China, a position he held until 2019, when he became a strategic adviser in the private sector.
As the Bloc Québécois representative, I admit it would be an understatement to say we had major political differences with Mr. McCallum. He was strongly opposed to Quebec's sovereignty, his contribution to the public debate on the economics of Quebec's separation raised many eyebrows. Although we often found ourselves on opposing sides during the biggest political battle in the history of Quebec and Canada, we remember Mr. McCallum today as a smiling, affable intellectual, who spoke frankly, had a great sense of humour and also a sense of statesmanship.
On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I want to offer my condolences to his wife, Nancy, his three sons, his six grandchildren, his loved ones and the Liberal political family.
Thank you for your public service, Mr. McCallum.