John Roderick Dahmer (September 5, 1937 – November 26, 1988) was elected a 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 ...

in 1988. His background was in education. A school teacher, guidance councillor, principal, and later involved in adult education, correctional education and vocational training as a director at Lakeland College. He was elected in the 1988 federal election at the Beaver River electoral district for the Progressive Conservative party; however, he was terminally stricken with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

and never saw the first day of the

34th Canadian Parliament The 34th Canadian Parliament was in session from December 12, 1988, until September 8, 1993. The membership was set by the 1988 federal election on November 21, 1988, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it wa ...

. Dahmer had entered

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

's Royal Alexandra Hospital on October 28, 1988, after suffering symptoms similar to adult onset type two

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, but the extent of his condition was not widely known until after election night. However, by the time cancer was discovered it was after the deadline to withdraw from the general election, and at that point it was not certain the cancer could not be successfully treated with chemotherapy. Dahmer died five days after the election, before the Deputy Clerk of the House of Commons could arrive to conduct a swearing-in ceremony. Despite this, parliamentary policy allowed Dahmer's widow to receive a $29,150 severance, which was equivalent to six months salary in office. This money was used to establish the John Dahmer Community Involvement Scholarship at Lakeland College. He holds the record for the shortest term as a federal Member of Parliament in Canadian history.

By-election

Dahmer's widow, Donna Lynne (née Coulter), ran unsuccessfully for the Progressive Conservative nomination in the resulting

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, losing to

Dave Broda David Mike Broda (September 17, 1944 – June 13, 2010) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1997 to 2004 as a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus. Political career Broda ran twice as the ...

. Broda lost the by-election to

Deborah Grey Deborah Cleland Grey, (born July 1, 1952) is a retired Canadian member of Parliament from Alberta for the Reform Party of Canada, the Canadian Alliance, and the Conservative Party of Canada. She was the first female leader of the Opposition in ...

, the first Reform Party candidate ever elected to the House of Commons. Grey had also been the Reform candidate in the 1988 election, but finished in fourth place.

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dahmer, John 1937 births 1988 deaths People from Red Deer, Alberta Deaths from pancreatic cancer Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs