Robert Waldron MacQuarrie (November 24, 1926 – January 11, 2007) was a politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, 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 1981 to 1985, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. MacQuarrie was born in Rexton,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, educated at Princes of Wales College (later renamed the

University of Prince Edward Island The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is a public university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the only university in the province. Founded in 1969, the enabling legislation is the ''University Act, R.S.P.E.I 2000.'' H ...

), and practiced law with the firm of Cuzner, MacQuarrie. He began his political career at the municipal level, serving as reeve of

Gloucester Township Gloucester Township is a township in Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 64,634, reflecting an increase of 284 (+0.4%) from the 64,350 counted in the 2000 census. The township ranke ...

in Ontario from 1972 to 1978, and as a councillor in the Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton from 1969 to 1978. In 1980–81, he was director of the Eastern Ontario Development Corporation. He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1981 provincial election, defeating

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate

Bernard Grandmaitre Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

and

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

Evelyn Gigantes Evelyn Adelaide Gigantes (born 1 November 1942) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She served as a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on three occasions between 1975 and 1995, and was a prominent cabinet m ...

in a close three-way contest for

Carleton East Carleton East was an electoral Riding (division), riding in Ontario, Canada. It was created for the 1967 election and was abolished in 1999 into Carleton—Gloucester and Ottawa—Vanier (provincial electoral district), Ottawa—Vanier. From 1986 ...

. MacQuarrie served as a government backbencher for the next four years, acting as parliamentary assistant to the Solicitor-General and

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. In January 1985, he supported Roy McMurtry's bid to succeed

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. The Progressive Conservatives were reduced to a tenuous

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

in the 1985 provincial election, and lost power to

David Peterson David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty. Backgro ...

's Liberals. MacQuarrie was defeated in Carleton East, losing to Liberal candidate

Gilles Morin Gilles Morin (born July 20, 1931) is a retired politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1999, and was briefly a cabinet minister in Ontario. Background Morin was educated ...

by 7,033 votes. The City of Ottawa named a sports complex after Bob Macquarrie - The "Bob MacQuarrie-Orléans Recreation Complex" located at 1490 Youville Drive in Orléans, Ontario, Canada.

External links

Obituary at legacy.comParliamentary history for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
1926 births 2007 deaths Mayors and reeves of Gloucester Township, Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs {{Ontario-mayor-stub