Leonard Marchand

For his son, the judge, see Leonard Marchand Jr.

The Honourable Leonard Marchand PC CM OBC
Minister of the Environment
In office 2 April 1979 – 3 June 1979
Prime Minister	Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by	Roméo LeBlanc
Succeeded by	John Allen Fraser
Senator for Kamloops-Cariboo, British Columbia
In office 29 June 1984 – 1 March 1998
Appointed by	Pierre Trudeau
Member of Parliament for Kamloops–Cariboo
In office 25 June 1968 – 21 May 1979
Preceded by	Riding created
Succeeded by	Riding dissolved
Personal details
Born	Leonard Stephen Marchand (1933-11-16)16 November 1933 Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
Died	3 June 2016(2016-06-03) (aged 82) Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Donna Parr ​ (m. 1960)​
Children	2
Alma mater	University of British Columbia (BS) University of Idaho (MS)
Profession	Agricultural scientist

Leonard Stephen "Len" Marchand PC CM OBC (16 November 1933 – 3 June 2016) was a Canadian politician. He was the first person of First Nations status to serve in the federal cabinet, after being the first Status Indian elected and serving as a Member of Parliament. He was also the first First Nations person to serve as a Parliamentarian. He served as Parliamentary Secretary, Minister of State, Minister of the Environment and Senator.

Early life

Marchand was born in Vernon, British Columbia on November 16, 1933. A member of the Okanagan Indian Band, he attended school at the Okanagan Indian Day School, the Kamloops Indian Residential School and Vernon high school. He went on to graduate from the University of British Columbia in 1959 with a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture. In 1964 Marchand later completed a master's degree in range management from the University of Idaho. After pursuing a career as an agronomist, he left the field in the mid-1960s to work with the North American Indian Brotherhood. His work in native affairs took him to Ottawa to lobby on Aboriginal issues. He was hired as a special assistant to two successive Cabinet ministers.

Career

Marchand entered politics and was elected to the House of Commons in the 1968 election as a Liberal Party candidate for the British Columbia riding of Kamloops-Cariboo. He defeated high-profile Progressive Conservative candidate E. Davie Fulton. He was the first Status Indian to be elected as an MP.

He became parliamentary secretary to Jean Chrétien, who was the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, helping persuade Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to begin land settlement negotiations between the federal government and the First Nations.

In 1976, Marchand was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister of State for small business. He was the first Status Indian to be appointed to a cabinet position. In 1977, he was promoted to Minister of the Environment, and held the post until his and the government's defeat in the 1979 election.

Marchand returned to British Columbia where he became administrator for the Nicola Valley Indian Administration. In 1984, he was appointed to the Senate, the second First Nations Canadian to be appointed (the first was officially James Gladstone, but in reality was Guy Williams). Marchand persuaded the Upper House to establish the Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, on which he served as chairman.

Marchand retired from the Senate in 1998 at the age of 64, eleven years ahead of the mandatory retirement age, in order to spend more time in British Columbia. He died on June 3, 2016.

Member of Parliament Robert Falcon Ouellette gave a tribute to Len Marchand in the House of Commons on June 9, 2016.

Family

Marchard is the father of Leonard Marchand Jr., who was appointed Chief Justice of British Columbia and the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of Yukon in December 2023.

Legacy and honours

• In 1999, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.
• In 2000, Caitlin Press published his autobiography, Breaking Trail.
• In 2014, Marchand received the Order of British Columbia.

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Order of Canada (CM)	Member 1999
	Order of British Columbia (OBC)	Member 2014
	Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal	1977 Canadian Version of this Medal
	125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal	1992
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal	2002 Canadian Version of this Medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	2012 Canadian version of this Medal

• Marchand was sworn in as a Member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on 15 September 1976, giving him the accordant style "The Honourable" and the post-nominal letters "PC" for life.
• In 1999, Marchand was given the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Thompson Rivers University.

Election results

1968 Canadian federal election: Kamloops—Cariboo
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Leonard Stephen Marchand	13,000	40.48
	Progressive Conservative	Edmund Davie Fulton	9,704	30.22
	New Democratic	Vernor Wilfred Jones	7,566	23.56
	Social Credit	Peter Robert Gook	1,842	5.74
Total valid votes			32,112	100.0
This riding was created from Cariboo and Kamloops, which elected a Social Credit and a Progressive Conservative, respectively, in the last election. Davie Fulton was the incumbent from Kamloops.

1972 Canadian federal election: Kamloops—Cariboo
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leonard S. Marchand	14,707	35.19	-5.29
	Progressive Conservative	Roy Hewson	13,993	33.48	+3.26
	New Democratic	John Farr	11,002	26.33	+2.77
	Social Credit	Peter R. Gook	2,089	5.00	-0.74
Total valid votes			41,791	100.0
	Liberal hold		Swing		-4.28

1974 Canadian federal election: Kamloops—Cariboo
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Len Marchand	20,474	41.73	+6.54
	Progressive Conservative	Donald W. Couch	17,328	35.32	+1.84
	New Democratic	Ron Anderson	9,478	19.32	-7.01
	Social Credit	Laurie Brigden	1,782	3.63	-1.37
Total valid votes			49,062	100.0
	Liberal hold		Swing		+2.35

Archives

There is a Leonard Marchand fonds at Library and Archives Canada.

External links

• Leonard Marchand: The first Status Indian elected to Canada's Parliament
• Leonard Marchand – Parliament of Canada biography
• Amazon.ca listing of "Breaking Trail.