Fernand Guindon

Who is Fernand Guindon?

Joseph Roméo Fernand Guindon was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented Glengarry and then Stormont in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1957 to 1974 as a Progressive Conservative member.

He was born in Fugèreville, Quebec, the son of Pascal Guindon and Josephine Lalonde, and he was educated in Bourget, Ontario and at the University of Ottawa. He married Claire Marie Rouette. He settled at Apple Hill, Ontario after World War II, later moving to Cornwall. He was secretary for the Chamber of Commerce at Apple Hill. Guindon served in the provincial cabinet as Minister Without Portfolio from 1967 to 1971, Minister of Tourism and Information from 1971 to 1972 and Minister of Labour from 1972 to 1974. As Minister of Labour, he oversaw and increase in the provincial minimum wage from $1.65/hour to $1.80/hour, on February 1, 1973. In April 1972, Guindon was called upon to resolve the then-longest municipal strike in the history of the City of Toronto. He was able to engineer a compromise that brought to an end a 30 day strike that had seen 120,000 tons of garbage piled up at 200 temporary collection sites across the city. He was also Chairman of the St. Lawrence Parks Commission. Guindon resigned his seat in 1974 to run unsuccessfully in the federal riding of Stormont—Dundas, losing to the Liberal candidate, Ed Lumley.