Evelyn Adelaide Gigantes (born 1 November 1942) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She served as a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on three occasions between 1975 and 1995, and was a prominent cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae. Background Gigantes was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and raised in Aylmer, Quebec. Her father, Earle Peach, was an author who wrote a book called "Memories of a Cape Breton childhood". She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University. She worked as a radio and television broadcaster before entering political life, and was for a time an interviewer with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and host of her own current affairs show in Ottawa. During her time out of political office, she was a member of a City of Ottawa Municipal Energy Planning Project, and served as a representative on women's issues for the National Union of Provincial Government Employees. Gigantes has a daughter, Clea, from a first marriage and a son, Matthew, with her second husband, John Sifton. Politics Carleton East Gigantes ran for the Ontario legislature in a by-election held on 7 November 1974. She was defeated by Progressive Conservative Paul Frederick Taylor in the Ottawa area riding of Carleton East, losing by 240 votes. The following year, however, she defeated Taylor by 281 votes in the provincial election of 1975. During her first term she was the NDP's critic for energy and later, education. In the provincial election of 1977 Gigantes was re-elected over Progressive Conservative Darwin Kealey by 781 votes. In the summer of 1980, Gigantes gave birth to her first child. The birth was a first for an Ontario MPP. She said the baby was conceived during an NDP convention the previous fall. She quipped, "It was one of the most positive products of the convention." In the 1981 provincial election she finished third behind both Liberal Bernard Grandmaitre and the winner, Progressive Conservative Bob MacQuarrie. Ottawa Centre Gigantes returned to the legislature through a by-election win in Ottawa Centre on 13 December 1984, called after Cassidy resigned as MPP. She defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Graham Bird by 1,878 votes. The Liberal candidate, radio call-in show host Lowell Green came in third. Gigantes was re-elected over Bird by an increased margin in the 1985 provincial election. After the 1985 election, the Liberal Party under David Peterson was