Bill Attewell

William Charles Attewell
Member of Parliament
for Markham
In office
1988–1993
Preceded byNew riding
Succeeded byJag Bhaduria
Member of Parliament
for Don Valley East
In office
1984–1988
Preceded byDavid Smith
Succeeded byAlan Redway
Personal details
Born(1932-01-21)January 21, 1932
Saint John, New Brunswick
DiedDecember 24, 2021(2021-12-24) (aged 89)
Political partyConservative

William Charles Attewell (January 21, 1932 – December 24, 2021) was a Canadian politician.

A corporate executive, Attewell was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Don Valley East defeating Liberal cabinet minister David Smith in the 1984 federal election that brought Brian Mulroney to power.[1]

As a result of redistribution, he decided to move to the riding of Markham, just outside Toronto, where he owned property, for the 1988 federal election leaving his former riding to former East York mayor Alan Redway who retained the riding for the Tories.[2]

Attewell won Markham, defeating Liberal candidate Jag Bhaduria and former Conservative MP John Gamble who was running as an independent.[3]

A backbencher throughout the Mulroney years, Attewell was appointed parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Kim Campbell after she won the 1993 Progressive Conservative leadership convention. He ran in the 1993 federal election but was defeated by an almost two-to-one margin in Markham—Whitchurch—Stouffville by Bhaduria.[4]

Attewell opposed the merger of the Progressive Conservative Party with the Canadian Alliance. He should not be mistaken for Bill Attwell who was president of the Oak Ridges—Markham federal Liberal riding association in 2007.

Electoral record

1993 Canadian federal election: Markham—Whitchurch-Stouffville
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Jag Bhaduria 35,909 46.50 +14.69
Progressive Conservative Bill Attewell 19,695 25.51 -27.59
Reform Joe Sherren 17,937 23.23 –
New Democratic Jack Grant 1,692 2.19 -6.80
National Sheldon Bergson 973 1.26 –
Natural Law Stephen Porter 469 0.61 –
Independent Paul Wang 458 0.59 –
Abolitionist Dean Papadopoulos 85 0.11 –
Total valid votes 77,218 99.30
Total rejected ballots 545 0.70
Turnout 77,763 70.25
Eligible voters 110,696
Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative Swing +21.14
Sources: Canadian Elections Database[5], Library of Parliament[6]
1988 Canadian federal election: Markham
Party Candidate Votes %
Progressive Conservative Bill Attewell 36,673 53.10
Liberal Jag Bhaduria 21,973 31.81
New Democratic Susan Krone 6,209 8.99
No affiliation John A. Gamble 3,643 5.27
Libertarian Ian Hutchison 568 0.82
Total valid votes 69,066
Sources: Canadian Elections Database[7], Library of Parliament[6]
1984 Canadian federal election: Don Valley East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Bill Attewell 29,706 54.4 +11.4
Liberal David Smith 18,578 34.0 -10.6
New Democratic Joe Macdonald 5,842 10.7 -0.9
Libertarian Robert Champlain 356 0.7 +0.1
Independent Arthur V. Wright 162 0.3 +0.1
Total valid votes 54,644 100.0

References

  1. ^ Bill Attewell – Parliament of Canada biography
  2. ^ History of Federal Ridings since 1867 - Don Valley East, Parliament of Canada
  3. ^ Markham, 1988 election result, Parliament of Canada
  4. ^ Markham—Whitchurch—Stouffville 1993 election result, Parliament of Canada
  5. ^ "1993 Federal Election: Markham--Unionville". Canadian Elections Database. University of Calgary. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "History of the Federal Electoral Ridings, 1867-2010". Government of Canada. Library of Parliament. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  7. ^ "1988 Federal Election: Markham--Unionville". Canadian Elections Database. University of Calgary. Retrieved September 30, 2021.