Skelly was born 14 April 1943, at New Westminster, British Columbia. The son of Robert Daniel Skelly and Dorothy Graham, he was educated at the University of British Columbia. In 1965, he married Sonia Alexandra Shewchuk.[3] He had a daughter, Susan Kathleen Skelly, born 1973; and a son, Robert Mark William Skelly, born 1975. Susan married Michael Ramsay, and they have three children: Rebecca Ruth, born 2001; Sarah-Grace Victoria, born 2002; and Maria Anne Heather, born 2010.
He served in the BC Legislature from 1972 to 1987. The longest-serving member for Alberni constituency in history, he was elected five times. Skelly began his career as MLA by making his maiden speech in the Legislature on recognizing aboriginal rights in British Columbia. He became environment critic for the NDP. He was opposed to uranium mining and worked with the Skagit Valley committee against using nuclear power in Canada. He opposed the river dam at Site C on the Peace River, and the diversion of the Fraser watershed into the Arctic Sea. After visiting Bernie Sanders in Vermont, he proposed the construction of a number of 50 megawatt wood fired electric generators. He also campaigned to have the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway continue its operation as promised by the Dominion government of 1871.
He was elected leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party in 1984 and was Opposition Leader in the BC Legislature until 1987. During his campaign as leader of the NDP leading up to the 1986 election he made such gains that the Social Credit Party convinced Bennet to resign and replaced him with Bill Vander Zalm. The Social Credit Party went on to win 47 seats to the NDP's 22. The NDP had dropped in popular vote from the previous election, but scored a higher percentage than in the elections in 1972, 1991 and 1996. After the election, the distribution of electoral districts in the province was declared to be biased in favour of Social Credit. The courts then ordered a fair redistribution. In 1986, Skelly resigned as NDP leader, and the following year, a party convention acclaimed Michael Harcourt as his successor.
In early 1988 Skelly was elected to the House of Commons of Canada representing the Federal riding of Comox—Alberni from 1988 to 1993. He became Aboriginal Affairs critic and was present during the Oka crisis. He ran for a second term but was defeated in the 1993 general election in which the New Democratic Party collapsed to nine seats.
Skelly served in Parliament at the same time as his brother Ray Skelly.
^@NDP (11 August 2022). "New Democrats are saddened to hear of the passing of Bob Skelly, former leader of the BC NDP and former Federal MP for Comox—Alberni" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^Normandin, P G (1985). Canadian Parliamentary Guide, 1985.
^Chan, Bernice (11 August 2022). "Former B.C. New Democrat leader Bob Skelly dead at 79". CBC.ca. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
skelly, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 2022, learn. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Bob Skelly news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Robert Evan Skelly 1 14 April 1943 6 August 2022 2 was a Canadian politician from British Columbia Bob SkellyMPMember of the Canadian Parliament for Comox AlberniIn office 1988 1993Preceded byRiding createdSucceeded byBill GilmourPersonal detailsBorn 1943 04 14 14 April 1943New Westminster British Columbia CanadaDied6 August 2022 2022 08 06 aged 79 Colwood British Columbia CanadaSpouseSonia Alex SkellyAlma materUniversity of British ColumbiaOccupationPoliticianSkelly was born 14 April 1943 at New Westminster British Columbia The son of Robert Daniel Skelly and Dorothy Graham he was educated at the University of British Columbia In 1965 he married Sonia Alexandra Shewchuk 3 He had a daughter Susan Kathleen Skelly born 1973 and a son Robert Mark William Skelly born 1975 Susan married Michael Ramsay and they have three children Rebecca Ruth born 2001 Sarah Grace Victoria born 2002 and Maria Anne Heather born 2010 He served in the BC Legislature from 1972 to 1987 The longest serving member for Alberni constituency in history he was elected five times Skelly began his career as MLA by making his maiden speech in the Legislature on recognizing aboriginal rights in British Columbia He became environment critic for the NDP He was opposed to uranium mining and worked with the Skagit Valley committee against using nuclear power in Canada He opposed the river dam at Site C on the Peace River and the diversion of the Fraser watershed into the Arctic Sea After visiting Bernie Sanders in Vermont he proposed the construction of a number of 50 megawatt wood fired electric generators He also campaigned to have the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway continue its operation as promised by the Dominion government of 1871 He was elected leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party in 1984 and was Opposition Leader in the BC Legislature until 1987 During his campaign as leader of the NDP leading up to the 1986 election he made such gains that the Social Credit Party convinced Bennet to resign and replaced him with Bill Vander Zalm The Social Credit Party went on to win 47 seats to the NDP s 22 The NDP had dropped in popular vote from the previous election but scored a higher percentage than in the elections in 1972 1991 and 1996 After the election the distribution of electoral districts in the province was declared to be biased in favour of Social Credit The courts then ordered a fair redistribution In 1986 Skelly resigned as NDP leader and the following year a party convention acclaimed Michael Harcourt as his successor In early 1988 Skelly was elected to the House of Commons of Canada representing the Federal riding of Comox Alberni from 1988 to 1993 He became Aboriginal Affairs critic and was present during the Oka crisis He ran for a second term but was defeated in the 1993 general election in which the New Democratic Party collapsed to nine seats Skelly served in Parliament at the same time as his brother Ray Skelly Skelly died of Parkinson s disease on 6 August 2022 in Colwood British Columbia He was 79 4 References Edit Robert Evan Skelly obituary NDP 11 August 2022 New Democrats are saddened to hear of the passing of Bob Skelly former leader of the BC NDP and former Federal MP for Comox Alberni Tweet via Twitter Normandin P G 1985 Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1985 Chan Bernice 11 August 2022 Former B C New Democrat leader Bob Skelly dead at 79 CBC ca Retrieved 11 August 2022 External links EditBob Skelly Parliament of Canada biography Parliament of CanadaPreceded byRiding did not exist Members of Parliament from Comox Alberni1988 1993 Succeeded byBill Gilmour This article about a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bob Skelly amp oldid 1108328267, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
