Andrew Naismith (Andy) Watson (born April 1, 1937) is a former politician in
Ontario, Canada. He served in the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...
from 1978 to 1985, as a member of the
Progressive Conservative Party.
Background
Watson was born in
Woodbridge, Ontario. He graduated from Ontario Agricultural College at the
University of Guelph in 1959, and became the OMAF assistant agricultural representative for
Waterloo County later in the same year. He was transferred to
Northumberland County in 1962, and became the agricultural representative for
Kent County from 1968 to 1978.
Politics
In 1978, Watson ran as served as the
Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of
Chatham—Kent to replace former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister
Darcy McKeough. He defeated
Liberal Brian Gamble by 708 votes, and served in the legislature as a
backbench supporter of
Bill Davis's government. He was re-elected in
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
.
Although forty-two years in government, the Progressive Conservatives were reduced to a tenuous
minority administration
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
in the
1985 provincial election, and were subsequently defeated in the legislature. Watson lost the
Chatham—Kent seat to Liberal
Maurice Bossy
Maurice Louis Bossy (April 1, 1929 – November 29, 2008) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1984, and represented the Ontario Liberal Party in the ...
by 1,134 votes.
After politics
After his loss, Watson served from 1986 to 1994 as assistant commissioner for Ontario on the Canadian Grain Commission. He became farm director for
CFCO radio in 1997, and was named to the Chatham-Kent Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2010, Watson became the President of the Chatham Rotary Club and he operates a Christmas tree farm.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Andy
1937 births
Living people
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs