Through his matrilineal line, he is "closely related" to, and a collateral descendant of, Modeste Demers, the first Bishop of Vancouver Island (since renamed to the Diocese of Victoria).
[2][7][8] The Gagnon family moved to British Columbia (BC) during his childhood, and he graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary School in North Vancouver.
On June 24, 1983, Gagnon was ordained to the Catholic priesthood at Holy Rosary Cathedral by James Carney, the Archbishop of Vancouver at the time.
[1] In March 2002, Gagnon succeeded David Monroe as both pastor of St. John the Apostle Parish and vicar general of the archdiocese,[1][10][11] after the latter was appointed as Bishop of Kamloops earlier in January.
[3][15] The red field and gold Latin cross in his coat of arms was influenced by that of Modeste Demers, Gagnon's aforementioned ancestor and predecessor as bishop of the diocese.
[3][16] Gagnon oversaw the conclusion of a financial and legal debacle for the Diocese of Victoria that began in the 1980s under his predecessor, Remi De Roo.
In November 2006, the diocese sold its land in Washington, enabling it to settle its debts completely – this included "full payment to the bond owners", many of whom were parishioners.
[17][18] Controversy erupted when Mike Favero, the pastor of Holy Cross Parish for three years, was seemingly forced to step down on January 18, 2007.
[18] Gagnon served as the AWCB's regional representative on the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) from 2007 to 2008.
[36] Lawrence Huculak, the Metropolitan Archeparch of Winnipeg, remarked how Gagnon's "extensive contact" with First Nations and other ethnic minorities in his past positions made him a fitting selection as archbishop.
He presented a cheque of C$60,000 to the executive director of Returning to Spirit, a First Nations spiritual charity that works in close cooperation with a predominantly Indigenous parish in the inner city.
[37] The funds, which were raised at a Mass held at MTS Centre on May 3 to celebrate the centennial of the archdiocese,[37][38] would go toward teaching people about First Nations residential schools.
[37] Earlier that week, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada – which documented the country's residential school system – issued 94 calls to action.
[39][40] In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Gagnon articulated his belief that a future papal visit to Canada – which he supports – should not be made merely for the purposes of an apology, since "that ground has been covered already".
[42][43] In another interview with the CBC's Power & Politics in 2018, Gagnon expounded on how he did not want a visit by the Pope and a resulting apology from him to be reduced to "just a matter of ticking off a particular call to action".
[49][50] Several weeks later, he voiced his dismay at the decision by the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation to allow casinos in the province to open on Good Friday and Easter Sunday for the first time.
[29] He had another audience with Pope Francis that year on December 9, together with CCCB president Lionel Gendron and secretary general Frank Leo.