Heward Grafftey
Encyclopedia
William Heward Grafftey, PC
, QC
(August 5, 1928 – February 11, 2010) was a Canadian
politician
and businessman.
, Quebec
, to a prosperous family, he was a cousin of artist Prudence Heward
, and wrote "Chapter Four: Prudence Heward" in the 1996 book Portraits of a Life..
His father, Major Arthur Grafftey, was a First World War hero and board chairman of the Montreal Lumber Company.
Grafftey received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Allison University
, majoring in Political Science and History, and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from McGill University
. He was admitted to the Bar of Quebec.
in the 1958 general election
that elected John Diefenbaker
's Progressive Conservative Party
in a landslide victory
. A resident of the Eastern Townships
, he was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for the riding of Brome—Missisquoi
from 1958 to 1968. From 1962 to 1963, Grafftey served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance. Due to his relatively short stature and impish looks, Grafftey earned the nickname of "The Gnome
from Brome," during his twenty years in politics.
In the 1964 Great Flag Debate
, he was one of a handful of Conservative MPs who broke with leader John Diefenbaker to support the adoption of the Maple Leaf flag. Grafftey sat as a Tory
MP until losing his seat in the 1968
Trudeau
landslide. During this period, he called for radical reforms to Canada's housing policies.
Grafftey returned to Parliament
in the 1972 election
, and was a candidate at the 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
, in which he placed last, with 33 delegate votes. Like many of the other challengers in the race who were knocked off in the early ballots, Grafftey supported the eventual leadership race winner Joe Clark
.
He served as Minister of State
for Social Programs and Minister of State for Science and Technology in the short lived 1979-1980 government of Joe Clark before losing his seat in the 1980 election
. Grafftey supported Clark in the 1983 PC leadership convention
, and was largely shut out of Quebec PC circles during the Mulroney years.
, but was unsuccessful. After suffering a serious injury which incapacitated him for most of the campaign, he came in third place behind the Bloc Québécois challenger and Liberal incumbent MP Denis Paradis
. He did, however, finish with the second highest vote total of any Progressive Conservative candidate in the province of Québec.
In 2002, he was one of the first Progressive Conservatives to openly call for Tory leader Joe Clark
's resignation, offering himself as a replacement. Grafftey eventually ran as a leadership candidate in the 2003 PC leadership contest
. He ran a campaign that was devoid of defining policy proposals but which focused upon his political experience, his bilingualism and his belief that he could recruit 300,000 new members to help the PCs win the coming election. Although, like most of the candidates in the race, he supported the twin Progressive Conservative pillars of North American free trade and support for decentralizing reforms to the Canadian constitution, he often found himself in agreement with the left wing of his party, sharing maverick candidate David Orchard
's opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
.
Grafftey's candidacy received some media attention largely because he was the only candidate in the race who was fluently bilingual (in English and French) and actually had government experience. Yet Grafftey's age (75 at the time) was also mocked by political satirists as an indication of the lack of "new blood" in the PC Party. Grafftey withdrew several days prior to the vote for health reasons. Analysts suggest that Grafftey had 72 committed delegates hailing largely from several Montreal-area ridings. Most of Grafftey's delegates entered the convention as "undeclared delegates". He did not attend the convention, nor did he endorse any other leadership candidate, though many of his rural backers went over to David Orchard.
After the 2003 convention, Grafftey briefly re-entered the political spotlight by joining David Orchard
and other former Tories in opposition to a proposed merger of the party with the Canadian Alliance
. Grafftey still insists that he is a "Progressive Conservative". He ran in Brome-Missisquoi for the Progressive Canadian Party
in the 2006 federal election
and came in fifth place with 1,921 votes - 4% of the total ballots cast.
In 2001, he wrote a book on the state of Canadian politics entitled Democracy Challenged: How to End One-Party Rule in Canada.
Grafftey died February 11, 2010 at the Royal Victoria Hospital from complications from Parkinson's disease.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(August 5, 1928 – February 11, 2010) was a 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
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and businessman.
Early life
Born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, to a prosperous family, he was a cousin of artist Prudence Heward
Prudence Heward
-Biography:Born Efa Prudence Heward in Montreal, Quebec, Canada into a well-to-do family, she was educated at private schools. At a young age, she showed an interest in art and, encouraged by her family, she attended the Art Association of Montreal school for training.During World War I, Heward...
, and wrote "Chapter Four: Prudence Heward" in the 1996 book Portraits of a Life..
His father, Major Arthur Grafftey, was a First World War hero and board chairman of the Montreal Lumber Company.
Grafftey received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University is a primarily undergraduate Canadian liberal arts and science university situated in Sackville, New Brunswick. It is located about a half hour from the regional city of Moncton and 20 minutes from the Greater Moncton International Airport...
, majoring in Political Science and History, and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. He was admitted to the Bar of Quebec.
Parliamentary career
Grafftey was first elected to the Canadian House of CommonsCanadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
in the 1958 general election
Canadian federal election, 1958
The Canadian federal election of 1958 was the 24th general election in Canada's history. It was held to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election...
that elected John Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
's Progressive Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
in a landslide victory
Landslide victory
In politics, a landslide victory is the victory of a candidate or political party by an overwhelming margin in an election...
. A resident of the Eastern Townships
Eastern Townships
The Eastern Townships is a tourist region and a former administrative region in south-eastern Quebec, lying between the former seigneuries south of the Saint Lawrence River and the United States border. Its northern boundary roughly followed Logan's Line, the geologic boundary between the flat,...
, he was the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for the riding of Brome—Missisquoi
Brome—Missisquoi
Brome—Missisquoi is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1925...
from 1958 to 1968. From 1962 to 1963, Grafftey served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance. Due to his relatively short stature and impish looks, Grafftey earned the nickname of "The Gnome
Gnome
A gnome is a diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature...
from Brome," during his twenty years in politics.
In the 1964 Great Flag Debate
Great Flag Debate
The Great Canadian Flag Debate took place in 1964 when a new design for the national flag of Canada was chosen. The flag debate began on June 15, 1964, when Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson proposed his plans for a new flag in the House of Commons. It lasted more than six months, bitterly...
, he was one of a handful of Conservative MPs who broke with leader John Diefenbaker to support the adoption of the Maple Leaf flag. Grafftey sat as a Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
MP until losing his seat in the 1968
Canadian federal election, 1968
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...
Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
landslide. During this period, he called for radical reforms to Canada's housing policies.
Grafftey returned to Parliament
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
in the 1972 election
Canadian federal election, 1972
The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive...
, and was a candidate at the 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
Progressive Conservative leadership convention, 1976
The 1976 leadership election of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was held in Ottawa on February 22, 1976, to elect a leader to replace Robert Stanfield, who had resigned after losing the 1968, 1972, and 1974 elections. It unexpectedly elected a 36-year-old, little-known PC Member of...
, in which he placed last, with 33 delegate votes. Like many of the other challengers in the race who were knocked off in the early ballots, Grafftey supported the eventual leadership race winner Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
.
He served as Minister of State
Minister of state (Canada)
A Minister of State is a junior cabinet minister in the Canadian Cabinet, usually given specific responsibilities to assist a senior cabinet minister in a specific area....
for Social Programs and Minister of State for Science and Technology in the short lived 1979-1980 government of Joe Clark before losing his seat in the 1980 election
Canadian federal election, 1980
The Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 32nd Parliament of Canada...
. Grafftey supported Clark in the 1983 PC leadership convention
Progressive Conservative leadership convention, 1983
The 1983 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held on June 11, 1983 in Ottawa, Ontario to elect a leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada...
, and was largely shut out of Quebec PC circles during the Mulroney years.
Later political career
Grafftey attempted to return to Parliament in the 2000 electionCanadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, but was unsuccessful. After suffering a serious injury which incapacitated him for most of the campaign, he came in third place behind the Bloc Québécois challenger and Liberal incumbent MP Denis Paradis
Denis Paradis
Denis Paradis, PC is a politician and lawyer from the Canadian province of Quebec. He served in the Canadian House of Commons from 1995 to 2006 and was a minister in the governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin...
. He did, however, finish with the second highest vote total of any Progressive Conservative candidate in the province of Québec.
In 2002, he was one of the first Progressive Conservatives to openly call for Tory leader Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
's resignation, offering himself as a replacement. Grafftey eventually ran as a leadership candidate in the 2003 PC leadership contest
Progressive Conservative leadership convention, 2003
The 2003 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held on May 31, 2003 to elect a leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Peter MacKay was elected as leader to replace former Prime Minister Joe Clark who had retired as party leader. In the end, five candidates emerged as...
. He ran a campaign that was devoid of defining policy proposals but which focused upon his political experience, his bilingualism and his belief that he could recruit 300,000 new members to help the PCs win the coming election. Although, like most of the candidates in the race, he supported the twin Progressive Conservative pillars of North American free trade and support for decentralizing reforms to the Canadian constitution, he often found himself in agreement with the left wing of his party, sharing maverick candidate David Orchard
David Orchard
David Orchard is a Canadian political figure, member of the Liberal Party of Canada, who was the Liberal Party candidate for the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River in the 2008 federal election.Previously, Orchard was a member of the now defunct Progressive Conservative...
's opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
.
Grafftey's candidacy received some media attention largely because he was the only candidate in the race who was fluently bilingual (in English and French) and actually had government experience. Yet Grafftey's age (75 at the time) was also mocked by political satirists as an indication of the lack of "new blood" in the PC Party. Grafftey withdrew several days prior to the vote for health reasons. Analysts suggest that Grafftey had 72 committed delegates hailing largely from several Montreal-area ridings. Most of Grafftey's delegates entered the convention as "undeclared delegates". He did not attend the convention, nor did he endorse any other leadership candidate, though many of his rural backers went over to David Orchard.
After the 2003 convention, Grafftey briefly re-entered the political spotlight by joining David Orchard
David Orchard
David Orchard is a Canadian political figure, member of the Liberal Party of Canada, who was the Liberal Party candidate for the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River in the 2008 federal election.Previously, Orchard was a member of the now defunct Progressive Conservative...
and other former Tories in opposition to a proposed merger of the party with the Canadian Alliance
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...
. Grafftey still insists that he is a "Progressive Conservative". He ran in Brome-Missisquoi for the Progressive Canadian Party
Progressive Canadian Party
The Progressive Canadian Party is a minor federal political party in Canada. It is a centre/centre-right party that was officially registered with Elections Canada, the government's election agency, on March 29, 2004....
in the 2006 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
and came in fifth place with 1,921 votes - 4% of the total ballots cast.
Other interests
Grafftey was active in business circles up to his death and was the CEO of SafetySense, a company that publishes basic safety booklets for businesses and schools.In 2001, he wrote a book on the state of Canadian politics entitled Democracy Challenged: How to End One-Party Rule in Canada.
Personal life
He has three children: Arthur Heward, Clement Tae Yong, and Leah Yoon Hee. His marriage to Alida Grace Visser ended in divorce.Grafftey died February 11, 2010 at the Royal Victoria Hospital from complications from Parkinson's disease.