Kilgour suffered from a rare lung disease that progressed rapidly last month, said his wife Laura Scott Kilgour.
He died in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 5th.
During his 27 years as an MP, Kilgour has established himself as an ardent supporter of international human rights demands. He has also shown that he is not afraid to challenge his colleagues in the Commons – even party leaders.
Kilgour was first elected to Edmonton-Strathcona in 1979 as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. He left Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s parliamentary group in 1990 because opposed the implementation of the GST.
He joined the Liberals months later and served as Canada’s foreign minister in Latin America and Africa from 1997 to 2002 and as Asia-Pacific foreign minister from 2002 to 2003.
In 2005, Kilgour publicly resigned from a major federal party for the second time in his career when he left the Liberals for what he called “about 10 issues” with the party’s conduct – including sponsorship scandal and her plans to legalize same-sex marriage.
Kilgour also cited Canada’s reluctance to take part in a multinational effort to end the genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region as a reason for his departure.
Ottawa eventually sent humanitarian aid to Sudan, a move attributed in part to Kilgour’s persistent and public calls for action.
Prime Minister Paul Martin (center) speaks with NDP leader Jack Layton (right) as Independent MP David Kilgour passes before the federal budget vote of confidence in the House of Commons in Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 19, 2005. (Tom Hanson / Canadian Press)
Kilgour served as an Independent Member of the House of Commons from 2005 until his retirement from politics in 2006. As an Independent, Kilgour maintained the balance of power in Paul Martin’s Liberal minority government at the time.
Following his departure from politics, Kilgour remained active in the field of human rights – in particular in China’s treatment of minority groups, including Falun Gong practitioners.
Kilgour’s family said he was in contact with friends and fellow activists around the world until the last days before his death.
