George A. Proud

PROUD, GEORGE ALBERT, utility company employee, deputy mayor, cab driver, carnival hawker, investment consultant, and director; b. 9 April 1939 in Charlottetown, son of Peter W. Proud and Margaret Beairsto; m. 3 August 1963 Elizabeth Ann Lawlor, and they had three children, Michael Peter, David George Walter, and Geoffrey Lyndon; Roman Catholic. Proud, a Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1974 for 5th Queens, He was re-elected in the general election of 1978. He was defeated in the general election of 1979. In 1974 Proud was appointed Minister Responsible for Housing Corporation and the Status of Women. He was appointed Minister of Labour and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Provincial Secretary in 1978. In the 1988 federal general election, Proud successfully ran for Hillsborough, and was re-elected in 1993 and 1997. In February 1989, he was appointed labour critic for the Opposition. Proud was appointed critic for Veterans Affairs in September 1990. He served on the Standing Committee on Labour, Employment and Immigration, and the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs. In September 1995, Proud was elected chair of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs. He was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs in July 1997. Proud was a member of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association and was a member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. From 1984 to 1986, he was Deputy Mayor and a member of Town Council in Pine Point, Northwest Territories. Proud received his primary education at the school in York. Later he attended St. Dunstan's University. From 1968 to 1969, he studied at Prince of Wales College. Proud also went to the Atlantic Regional Labour Education Centre and the Labour College of Canada. He worked for Maritime Electric as a linesman and line area foreman, as well as a property and fleet supervisor. In 1978 Proud worked as a cab driver and with the Bill Lynch Carnival. From 1980 to 1985, he was employed by the Northern Canada Power Commission in the Northwest Territories, advancing to the position of plant manager in 1985. In 1986 he moved back to Charlottetown and worked in the investment field. The following year, Proud returned to Maritime Electric. In 2001 he was appointed a Director of the Canadian Transport Commission. Proud was recording secretary and vice-president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1432. He was a president of the Prince Edward Island Federation of Labour and vice-president of the Canadian Labour Congress. He also served as a member of the board of governors of the University of Prince Edward Island. Proud was a member of the executive of the Prince Street Home and School Association and the Charlottetown Minor Hockey Association. He was a member of the Lions Club. George Proud lives in Ottawa.