William Smith is a businessman, Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 politician, and former mayor of Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

.

Smith was first elected in 1995 after defeating incumbent Mayor Jan Reimer

Janice Rhea Reimer

Janice Rhea Reimer is a Canadian politician and the first female mayor of Edmonton, Alberta, having served in that capacity from 1989 until 1995...

 and was re-elected in 1998 and 2001. In 2004, Smith was defeated by Councillor Stephen Mandel

Stephen Mandel

Stephen Mandel is a Canadian politician and the current mayor of Edmonton, Alberta.-Biography:Mandel received an Associate of Arts Degree from Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Miami University, and his Masters in Political Science from...

 by more than 17000 votes.

He was also an Edmonton Eskimos

Edmonton Eskimos

The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...

 football player, and helped the team to win the Grey Cup

Grey Cup

The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...

As Mayor, Smith was known as "Booster Bill" for his efforts in promoting Edmonton as the "Greatest City in the Greatest Province in the Greatest Country."