Gerard Janssen

Gerard A. Janssen (b. May 3, 1946^[1]) is a Dutch-born jeweller, watchmaker and former political figure in British Columbia. He represented Alberni in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1988 to 2001 as a New Democratic Party (NDP) member.

Gerard Janssen
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Alberni
In office November 19, 1988 – May 16, 2001
Preceded by	Bob Skelly
Succeeded by	Gillian Trumper
Personal details
Born	(1946-05-03) May 3, 1946 (age 79) Venlo, Netherlands
Political party	British Columbia New Democratic Party
Occupation	Jeweller

He was born in Venlo, the son of Nicholas Jannsen and Maria Sloesen,^[1] and came to Canada with his parents in 1952. Janssen later took over the operation of the business established by his parents in 1956.^[2] In 1967, he married Florence Edith Irene McIver.^[1] He was a member of the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce, also serving as its president. Janssen was first elected to the provincial assembly in a 1988 by-election held after Bob Skelly resigned his seat to enter federal politics. He served as government whip in the assembly. Janssen was a member of the provincial cabinet, serving as Minister of Small Business, Tourism and Culture from 2000 to 2001.^[2] He was defeated by Gillian Trumper when he ran for reelection to the assembly in the new riding of Alberni-Qualicum in 2001.^[3]

Electoral history

v t e 2001 British Columbia general election: Alberni-Qualicum
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Gillian Trumper	13,109	53.32	+17.47	$34,684
	New Democratic	Gerard Janssen	7,395	30.08	-21.93	$10,768
	Green	Sergio Paone	2,999	12.20	+10.83	$4,066
	Marijuana	Nicholas Saint Edmund Thorp	1,081	4.40	–	$1,578
Total valid votes			24,584	100.00
Total rejected ballots			93	0.38
Turnout			24,677	74.70
	Liberal gain from New Democratic		Swing		+19.7

v t e 1996 British Columbia general election: Alberni
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Gerard A. Janssen	7,398	52.01	-1.38
	Liberal	Gillian Trumper	5,099	35.85	+18.21
	Reform	V. Hansen	823	5.79	–
	Progressive Democrat	Ingrid Helen Rebar	578	4.06	–
	Green	Andre Sperling	195	1.37	–
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Karl Angus	72	0.51	–
	Natural Law	Kathleen Lapreyrouse	58	0.41	–
Total valid votes			14,223	100.00
Total rejected ballots			86	0.98
Turnout			14,309
	New Democratic hold		Swing		+9.80

v t e 1991 British Columbia general election: Alberni
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Gerard A. Janssen	7,136	53.39	-4.08
	Social Credit	Gillian Trumper	3,665	27.43	-0.37
	Liberal	Peter J. Tanner	2,358	17.64	+2.91
	Western Canada Concept	Alan W. Banford	206	1.54	–
Total valid votes			13,365	100.00
Total rejected ballots			372	0.27
Turnout			13,737
	New Democratic hold		Swing		-2.23

v t e British Columbia provincial by-election, November 19, 1988: Alberni
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Gerard A. Janssen	6,401	57.47	+2.18
	Social Credit	George S. Dryden	3,096	27.80	−13.92
	Liberal	Shirley M. Bonfield	1,640	14.73	+12.3
Total valid votes/expense limit			11,137	100.0	–
Total rejected ballots			136	0.38
Turnout			11,273
	New Democratic hold		Swing		+8.05
By-election due to the Resignation of Robert Skelly to run for the Canadian House of Commons.
Source(s) "November 19, 1988 By-election" (PDF). Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. 19 November 1988. Retrieved 19 January 2017.