Rod Laporte

Rodney Edward Laporte (born 24 October 1953 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan) is a Saskatchewan lawyer and a former Canadian Member of Parliament (MP). Before becoming a politician, Laporte had been a student of history and Law at the University of Regina.^[1]

Laporte became the New Democratic Party (NDP) MP for Moose Jaw—Lake Centre in the 1988 Canadian federal election, winning a riding covering territory that had been a Progressive Conservative (PC) stronghold for thirty years.^[2] It was a very narrow win, as Laporte garnered only 408 votes more than PC candidate Bill Gottselig.^[3] In the 1993 election, he lost the seat to Reform Party candidate Allan Kerpan. His loss was even narrower that his initial win: only 310 votes separated him from the winner.^[4]

During the 2002–2003 NDP leadership race, Laporte endorsed Bill Blaikie. After leaving politics, Laporte practised law for the Saskatchewan Legal Aid Commission in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan.^[5]