William Hillary Clarke (born 5 July 1933 in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

) is a chartered Accountant, businessman and politician. Clarke served as a Progressive Conservative party member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

. He entered national politics following his victory at

Vancouver Quadra Vancouver Quadra is a federal electoral district in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada. It has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1949. The constituency bears the name of the Spanish explorer who surveye ...

riding in the 1972 federal election. Clarke was re-elected at the riding in the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, 1979 and 1980 federal elections. In the 1984 federal election, Clarke was defeated by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...

, leader of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. Clarke was defeated even as his party won the most seats in Canadian history. Clarke made two further unsuccessful attempts to regain Vancouver Quadra in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

and

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. Clarke served four consecutive terms, from the 29th through

32nd Canadian Parliament The 32nd Canadian Parliament was in session from April 14, 1980, until July 9, 1984. The membership was set by the 1980 federal election on February 18, 1980, and it only changed slightly due to resignations and by-elections prior to being disso ...

s. Clarke attended schools in Toronto's Forest Hill district, then studied at

Ridley College Ridley College (also known as RC, Ridley) is a private boarding and day university-preparatory school located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 20 miles (32 km) from Niagara Falls. The school confers the Ontario Secondary School Diploma ...

at St. Catharines and St. George's School in Vancouver. His post-secondary education was at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. He became a Chartered Accountant for

Price Waterhouse PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

's Vancouver office in 1956. He was the Conservative Party of British Columbia candidate for the 2013 British Columbia general election for the riding of

Vancouver-Quilchena Vancouver-Quilchena is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. According to the 2006 Census, this riding is the second-wealthiest in British Columbia with an average family income of $91,822, b ...

, but did not win the riding.

References

External links

*
William Hillary Clarke fonds at Library and Archives Canada
1933 births Living people Politicians from Toronto Canadian accountants Canadian Anglicans Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs University of British Columbia alumni British Columbia Conservative Party candidates in British Columbia provincial elections {{BritishColumbia-politician-stub