Peter Reilly

Who was Peter Reilly?

Peter Reilly was a Progressive Conservative party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was a broadcaster and journalist by career.

He was elected at the Ottawa West riding in the 1972 general election and served his term 29th Canadian Parliament before being defeated in the 1974 election by Lloyd Francis of the Liberal party.

During his term as Member of Parliament, Reilly was in conflict with former Prime Minister and fellow party member John Diefenbaker whom he charged was undermining the leadership of Progressive Conservative leader Robert Stanfield. This feud began in early 1973 when Stanfield, Reilly and other house members supported a federal bilingualism initiative, which Diefenbaker and several other members opposed.

Following his departure from Parliament, Reilly returned to broadcasting with CBC Television as one of the founding reporters of the fifth estate. One of his reports was broadcast on the program 15 March 1977, the same day that he died at his Toronto residence from an apparent case of heart failure.