Gérard Provost was born in 1899 in a logging camp in Maine; his parents were Lorenzo Provost and Félixine Doyon. Lorenzo Provost, born November 6, 1880, and Félixine Doyon, born June 4, 1884, were married on July 16,1901 in Ste-Rose-de-Watford, Québec. Lorenzo and his family left Ste-Rose-de-Watford in 1913 for Scobey, Montana. In 1920, Gérard and his father joined Lorenzo's father and mother, Firmin and Marie (Nolin) Provost, and two of Lorenzo's brothers, Adalbert and Roméo, who had settled in Légal, Alberta in 1918. Lorenzo's wife and children, Josaphat, Rose-Alma, Zorilla, Alida, Armand and Rose-Aimée joined in him in Légal later that year; another son, Albert, was born in 1924.

In 1922, Lorenzo worked for Napoléon Garneau at his lumber camp at Shoal Lake, and from 1924 to 1926 the Provosts operated the lumber business with Napoléon Garneau. They also traveled around with a portable sawmill, and were involved in the threshing of grain. In the fall of 1926, the lumber business was moved to Driftpile, Alberta and remained there until 1929. The family returned to Shoal Creek, but after two years moved to Faust, Alberta. Following his father's retirement in 1952, Gérard moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba and was a transport driver until 1970. He then returned to Alberta.