Michel Cogger

The Honourable
Michel Cogger
KC
Senator for Lauzon, Quebec
In office
1986–2000
Appointed byBrian Mulroney
Preceded byJean-Paul Deschatelets
Succeeded byYves Morin
Personal details
Born
Michel Benoit Cogger

(1939-03-21)March 21, 1939
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
DiedJanuary 27, 2025(2025-01-27) (aged 85)
Political partyProgressive Conservative

Michel Benoit Cogger, KC (March 21, 1939 – January 27, 2025) was a Canadian businessman, lawyer and politician in Quebec who served in the Senate of Canada.

Cogger was a senior political advisor to and fundraiser for Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney and helped run the party's campaigns in Quebec in the 1984 and 1988 federal elections in which the Tories swept the province.

Cogger died on January 27, 2025, at the age of 85.

Early life

Cogger attended law school at Laval University in the 1960s, where he became friends with Mulroney. The two were among a group of students who organized the Congrès des affaires canadiennes.

Career

Cogger was campaign manager during Mulroney's bid to win the 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership convention as well as the successful campaign which forced Joe Clark to call a 1983 leadership convention.

In 1986, Muroney named Cogger to the Senate. In 1991, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police laid influence peddling charges alleging that Cogger had taken payments from businessman Guy Montpetit in exchange for the use of Cogger's influence to win government grants and contacts. Cogger was acquitted in 1993 but in 1997 the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a new trial which led to Cogger's conviction in 1998. He was fined $3,000, put on 12 months' probation and ordered to do 120 hours of community service. Cogger successfully appealed the sentence which was substituted by an absolute discharge in 2001.

In September 2000, Cogger resigned from the Senate. He had been largely absent from the upper house during his legal battles and was fined a total of $23,250 for missing sessions.

Further reading

  • Sawatsky, John (1991). Mulroney: The politics of ambition. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-7943-6.
  • Cameron, Stevie (1994). On the take: Crime, corruption, and greed in the Mulroney years. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Seal Books. ISBN 978-0-7704-2708-5.

References

  1. ^ Michel Cogger – Parliament of Canada biography
  2. ^ a b c DeMont, John; Fisher, Luke. "The fall of a Senator". Maclean's. Vol. 111, no. 24. pp. 47–48. Retrieved February 2, 2025 – via The Internet Archive.
  3. ^ "The Hon. Michel Cogger". Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians. January 27, 2025. Archived from the original on February 2, 2025. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
  4. ^ Johnson, William (1994). A Canadian Myth: Quebec, Between Canada and the Illusion of Utopia. Outremont, Quebec, Canada: Robert Davies Publishing. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-895854-08-4. Retrieved February 2, 2025 – via The Internet Archive.
  5. ^ Fraser, Graham (1989). Playing for Keeps: The Making of the Prime Minister, 1988. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: McClelland & Stewart. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-7710-3208-0. Retrieved February 2, 2025 – via The Internet Archive.
  6. ^ Courtney, John C. (1995). Do Conventions Matter?: Choosing National Party Leaders in Canada. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: McGill–Queen's University Press. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-7735-6569-2. Retrieved February 2, 2025 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Martin, Patrick; Gregg, Allan; Perlin, George C. (1983). Contenders: The Tory quest for power. Scarborough, Ontario, Canada: Prentice-Hall Canada. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-13-171349-9. Retrieved February 2, 2025 – via The Internet Archive.
  8. ^ Bindman, Stephen (September 13, 1991). "Michel Cogger faces new charge; Mounties allege Conservative senator peddled influence". Toronto Star. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. p. A2. Retrieved February 2, 2025 – via ProQuest.
  9. ^ "Tory senator guilty of influence peddling". CBC News. November 14, 1998 [February 6, 1998]. Archived from the original on February 2, 2025. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Cogger quits Senate seat, leaving Tories with 35 in Red Chamber". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. September 8, 2000. p. A4. Retrieved February 2, 2025 – via ProQuest.
  11. ^ "Quebec: Cogger wins discharge". National Post. May 18, 2001. p. A4. Retrieved February 2, 2025 – via ProQuest.
  12. ^ "Cogger given absolute discharge in influence peddling case". CBC News. May 18, 2001. Archived from the original on February 2, 2025. Retrieved February 2, 2025.