WINNIPEG – Tributes poured in Friday with the news that Reg Alcock, a federal and provincial politician from Manitoba who once served as Treasury Board president in Paul Martin’s cabinet, had died.
He was also minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board and had served in the intergovernmental affairs portfolio.
A Liberal spokesman didn’t have details of his death, although it’s believed Alcock, 63, was on his way to northern Manitoba when he collapsed.
He had struggled with his weight for many years.
Manitoba Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard and Kevin Lamoureux, the only Liberal MP left in the province, said it was a sad day for the party and for Manitoba.
“I’ve known Reg going back to our work in the Liberal party in the 1980s,” said Gerrard, who went from federal to provincial politics, reversing Alcock’s trajectory.
“We worked very close together when we were both Manitoba MPs in Parliament. Reg will be remembered as a leader and true champion for Manitobans. Throughout my political career, Reg could always be counted on for help and sound advice, and was a force to be reckoned with.”
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Lamoureux served with Alcock in the provincial legislature. Lamoureux won the federal riding of WinnipegNorth in a 2010 byelection and held it in the May general election.
“Reg was a dear friend of mine with whom I was tremendously close since we were both elected to the Manitoba legislature in 1988,” he said.
“Canada lost a champion today and is a better place because of Reg’s tremendous contributions.”Lamoureux and Gerrard both said Alcock would be remembered for his key role in building the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg and for working with First Nations.
The Winnipeg-born Alcock, who had a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard, was first elected as a member of the Manitoba legislature in 1988. It was during the last surge of
Liberal popularity in the province, when Sharon Carstairs led the party to the largest number of seats in recent memory and formed the Official opposition.
That didn’t last, however, and after the party’s provincial fortunes slumped Alcock jumped to federal politics. He won in the riding of Winnipeg South in 1993 and was re-elected several times until his defeat in the 2006 federal election.
Most recently, Alcock held the position of executive in residence at the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business.
“In addition to his outstanding work for our university, he dedicated much of his life to public service for this city, province and country,” said university president David Barnard in a statement.
Alcock was a long-standing member of the Harvard Policy Group, which studies the effects of information technology on the public sector.
“While our university community has suffered a significant loss, a much deeper loss is felt by his family,” said Barnard.
Alcock is survived by his partner Karen Taraska-Alcock and their children Sarah, Matthew and Christina.
Interim federal Liberal Leader Bob Rae used Twitter to respond to Alcock’s death.
“Very sad to hear the news about my friend Reg Alcock, (who) died of a heart attack today … great guy and good friend to many,” Rae wrote.
Rod Bruinooge, who took Winnipeg South for the Conservatives in 2006, also expressed his condolences on Twitter.
“It was with great sadness that I learned about the passing of Reg Alcock today,” he said. “Deepest sympathies to his family. A sad day for Manitoba.”
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