Patrick Morgan (Pat) Mahoney, (January 20, 1929 – June 8, 2012) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

judge, politician, lawyer and businessman. Mahoney was first elected to parliament in the 1968 election as the

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 ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Calgary South. A Liberal in a province and city not known for electing Liberal politicians, Mahoney rode the wave of

Trudeaumania Trudeaumania was the nickname given in early 1968 to the excitement generated by Pierre Elliott Trudeau's entry into the leadership race of the Liberal Party of Canada. Trudeaumania continued during the subsequent federal election campaign and ...

to defeat Progressive Conservative incumbent

Harold Raymond Ballard Harold Raymond Ballard (February 5, 1918 – January 31, 1997) was a business executive, chartered accountant and Canadian politician. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1965 to 1968 and alderman on Calgary City Council from 1962 to 1966. ...

by 756 votes. In 1970, he became parliamentary secretary to the

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

. He held that position until January 1972, when

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 i ...

Pierre Trudeau promoted him to Cabinet as a

minister of state Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

. Mahoney's promotion was not enough for him to save his seat in the subsequent 1972 election, and he went down to defeat at the hands of Tory rival Peter Bawden, losing by more than 16,000 votes. In 2011, Mahoney joked that the Liberals "will elect an MP in Calgary again before the

Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

win the Stanley Cup." Subsequent to his defeat, Mahoney, a lawyer by training, was appointed to the

Federal Court of Appeal The Federal Court of Appeal (french: Cour d'appel fédérale) is a Canadian appellate court that hears cases concerning federal matters. History Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867 empowers the Parliament of Canada to establish "addit ...

. Mahoney joined the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

as an executive in 1955 and, in 1959, moved the Labour Day Classic match against the rival Edmonton Eskimos from Edmonton to Calgary, it has been played there ever since. He briefly served as the team's general manager in 1965 and also served as president of the league's Western Football Conference. He retired to North Vancouver, British Columbia, where he died at the age of 83. Mahoney was the last Liberal to be elected to the House of Commons of Canada from a Calgary-based riding until

Kent Hehr Kent Hehr (born December 16, 1969) is a Canadian politician from Alberta. He was elected as the Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Calgary Centre in the 2015 federal election. Hehr was named Minister of Veterans Affairs in the ...

and

Darshan Kang Darshan Singh Kang (born 1951) is a Canadian politician, who served in the House of Commons of Canada representing Calgary Skyview from 2015 until 2019. He previously sat as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada caucus. Prior to his election ...

were elected in 2015."After 47 years, Liberals finally win seat in Calgary"
'' algary Herald', October 20, 2015.

References

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahoney, Patrick 1929 births 2012 deaths Calgary Stampeders general managers Judges in Alberta Lawyers in Alberta Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Calgary Politicians from Winnipeg Canadian football people from Calgary Sportspeople from Winnipeg University of Alberta alumni