Gilbert was born in Toronto and grew up in a poor working-class family which he helped support during the Great Depression by selling newspapers at the corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets for two cents each[1] and by gathering coal that had fallen off horse-drawn coal wagons in order to help heat his family's home.
[1] He left school early to support his family by working in a box factory until marrying his wife, Nora, and going to university.
[4] While an MP, he devoted one day a week meeting constituents at the Woodgreen Community Centre where he would help them with their legal problems.
"[2] "He was one of the members of Parliament that I most admired in my life," said former NDP leader Ed Broadbent, who served in the House of Commons with Gilbert for several years.
"[1] In 1969, Gilbert criticized the Liberal government of the day, led by Pierre Trudeau, accusing it of lacking the commitment to build affordable housing and instead spending money on an inquiry of the issue to discover what was already known.