"It was not within my dream that I would be a Member of Parliament in Canada," said Dr. Rey, as his constituents often call him. The humble 

physician, professor and politician has surely come a long way from the poor boy who was educated through the generosity of his community in 

Cavite and who never forgot his roots.”


Dr. Pagtakhan achieved many milestones for himself and for the Filipino community in Canada. Not only was he the first Filipino Canadian MP, 

serving for 16 years from 1998 until 2004, but he was also the first Filipino Canadian to be appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime 

Minister (Jean Chrétien), and the first Filipino Canadian to be appointed to the Federal Cabinet. Dr. Rey’s appointment to the Cabinet also made 

him the highest-ranking Philippine-born elected official serving outside of the Philippines. He was also the 1998 Most Outstanding Young 

Filipino-Canadian awardee. His long and distinguished career will forever be remembered in the history books.


Born January 7, 1935 in Bacoor, Cavite, Dr. Rey is one of 11 children. Growing up in a large family with a relatively small income presented 

certain obstacles for the young Dr. Rey who, even in his early years, had been described by teachers as having a "brilliant mind".


Rey at first thought of becoming a journalist or lawyer, but his father enrolled him in premedicine at the University of the Philippines. As a 

medical student in the College of Medicine at the UP, he served as a Research Associate in Pediatrics at the UP Philippine General Hospital 

Centre. After graduation, Dr. Rey completed his residency and fellowship at the Washington University Medical Centre/St. Louis Children’s Hospital 

where he met his wife, Gloria Visarra, who holds a Master of Science in Dietetics degree from the same university. They married in 1964 and Rey 

took up residency in Pediatrics at the St. Louis Heart Association.


In 1968, Dr. Pagtakhan and his family immigrated to Canada and were granted Canadian citizenship in 1974. They have four sons: Reis, Advin, 

Sherwin, and Christopher Justin; a daughter-in-law (Mabini Joy), and a granddaughter (Kailani Joy).


A specialist in children’s lung diseases, Rey lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba where he sought to develop his pediatric health skills. He accepted a 

Post-doctoral Fellowship in Pediatric Respirology at the Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg of the University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine and 

pursued his Master of Science studies in Prenatal Physiology. He served as Director of the Memorial Cystic Fibrosis Centre and as President of the 

Manitoba Pediatric Society in addition to being full-time on the Faculty of Medicine.


Dr.Rey was also very active in community affairs. He helped revive the United Council of Filipino Canadian Associations in Canada (UCFAC) (now 

called the National Council of Canadian Filipino Associations) in 1982. As National President of UCFAC, Dr. Rey was elected as the first Chair of 

the Canadian Ethno-cultural Council (CEC), a coalition of 37 national ethno-cultural organizations in Canada in 1984. He officially joined the 

Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Program Planning Mission to the Philippines in 1986 on invitation by the Canadian government. He 

received Canada’s Governor-General Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Medal for his professionalism and community achievements.


Dr. Rey was a citizen member of the Winnipeg Police Commission (1983 to 1986) and won a three-year term as a School Trustee (1986 to 1989) in a 

public school division.


In 20 years of serving in various community roles, Pagtakhan had become the acknowledged leader of the Winnipeg Pinoys and was deemed ripe for 

political office. Thus, it came as no surprise when he decided in 1988, with the blessing of his family, to take on the challenges of national 

politics.

Pagtakhan served as parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien from February 23, 1996 to July 15, 1998. He was appointed to cabinet 

on January 9, 2001, and served as Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) until January 15, 2002. His appointment to cabinet marked the first time in 

over 75 years that an M.P. from north Winnipeg became a member of the federal cabinet. As Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific), Dr. Pagtakhan took on 

a number of tasks including representing Canada as Head of its delegation to the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and 

Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.


On January 15, 2002, he was promoted to Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister responsible for Manitoba . In this capacity, he served on the 

Cabinet Committees on Economic Union, Social Union and Government Communications.


During his tenure as Minister responsible for Manitoba (also known as the Senior Minister for Manitoba), Pagtakhan was part of the government that 

funded major projects in Manitoba such as the expansion of the Red River Floodway and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Pagtakhan also served 

as Secretary of State (Science, Research and Development) from May 2002 to December 2003.


Galing Pinoy, Asian Journal

Dr. Rey D. Pagtakhan – First Fil-Canadian Member of Parliament, A multi-faceted leader