Jacques Flynn

Who was Jacques Flynn?

Jacques Flynn, PC OC QC was a Canadian politician and Senator.

Born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, the grandson of the Premier of Quebec Edmund James Flynn, he graduated in law from Université Laval in and was called to the Quebec Bar both in 1939.

A Progressive Conservative, Flynn ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1957 election. He won the riding of Quebec South in the 1958 election when John George Diefenbaker led the PC Party to a landslide victory.

Flynn became Deputy Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons in 1960. In December 1961, Prime Minister Diefenbaker brought Flynn into the Canadian Cabinet as Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys, a position he held until losing his seat in the 1962 election that reduced the Conservatives to a minority government. Later that year, he was appointed to the Senate.

Flynn served as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from 1967 until the 1979 election that brought the Tories back to power. Prime Minister Joe Clark brought Flynn into Cabinet as Minister of Justice.