William Henry Brett (August 25, 1895https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/196384746/william-henry-brett – April 30, 1972) was a fisherman and political figure in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He represented

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

from 1945 to 1949 as a

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...

member. He was born in Fogo,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Brett joined the

Royal Navy Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

at the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and served overseas. After the war, he settled in

Prince Rupert, British Columbia Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Its location is on Kaien Island near the Alaskan panhandle. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and has a population of 12, ...

, where he was involved in deep sea fishing. Brett was president of the Deep Sea Fisherman's Union local and of the Prince Rupert Fisherman's Credit Union. He later served as general manager of the Fisherman's Co-operative. Brett served three years on Prince Rupert city council. He defeated former premier

Thomas Dufferin Pattullo Thomas Dufferin "Duff" Pattullo (January 19, 1873 – March 30, 1956) was the 22nd premier of British Columbia from 1933 to 1941. Early life and early political career Born in Woodstock, Ontario, into a family of Scottish ancestry, Pattullo ...

to win his seat in the assembly in 1945. Brett was defeated by

John Duncan McRae John Duncan McRae (May 28, 1915 – June 25, 1999) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1949 to 1952 from the electoral district of Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumb ...

when he ran for reelection in 1949. He died in Prince Rupert at the age of 76.

References

1895 births 1972 deaths People from Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland Colony people British Columbia Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs 20th-century Canadian legislators {{BritishColumbia-MLA-stub