Gerald Comeau

Gerald J. Comeau (February 1, 1946 – December 4, 2023) was a Canadian politician who served as a senator and as a member of Parliament.

Early life
Born in Meteghan Station, Nova Scotia, Comeau was an accountant by training. Comeau received his B.Comm and his B.Ed from the Université de Moncton.

Comeau was a member of Nova Scotia's Acadian minority.

Political career
Comeau was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as part of the Progressive Conservative landslide win in the 1984 election. The member of Parliament for South West Nova, Comeau was a government backbencher throughout his term and was defeated in the 1988 election due in part to the unpopularity of the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement in Atlantic Canada.

In 1990, Comeau was appointed to the Senate by Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn, on the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. He sat as a Progressive Conservative until February 2004. He then became a Conservative Party senator after the merger of the Progressive Conservative and the Canadian Alliance parties. He served as deputy leader of the Government in the Senate from February 23, 2006 to May 24, 2011.

On January 19, 2013, Governor General David Johnston, on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, appointed Comeau to the Privy Council.

Comeau retired from the Senate on November 30, 2013, seven years before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.

Death
Comeau died from cancer at a hospital in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia on December 4, 2023, at the age of 77.