Former Ottawa MP Jean Pigott, who also served as chairperson of the National Capital Commission (NCC), died this morning at the age of 87.
Pigott represented east Ottawa when she was elected in 1976 to the now-defunct Ottawa–Carleton riding as a Progressive Conservative.
In a written statement, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said she is now “looking down upon our city as Ottawa’s true Patron Saint.”
Watson said Pigott was “someone who could always be counted on to put the interests of her community and country first and foremost.”
Pigott was appointed chairwoman of the NCC by former prime minister Brian Mulroney in 1984.
NCC officials said in a written statement that Pigott “embodied the mandate of the NCC: to create a capital for all Canadians.” She tried to ensure all Canadians “considered the Capital their second home.”
She was also made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1995.
Watson has ordered flags at City Hall to be flown at half-mast.