William John Petten (January 28, 1923 – March 6, 1999) was a Canadian politician. Born in St. John's,

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 ...

, he was the son of Ray Petten, chief fundraiser of

Joey Smallwood Joseph Roberts Smallwood (December 24, 1900 – December 17, 1991) was a Newfoundlander and Canadian politician. He was the main force who brought the Dominion of Newfoundland into Canadian Confederation in 1949, becoming the first premier of ...

Newfoundland Confederate Association The Confederate Association was a political party formed and led by Joey Smallwood and Gordon Bradley to advocate that the Dominion of Newfoundland join the Canadian Confederation. The party was formed on February 21, 1948 prior to the launch of t ...

and subsequently a member of the Canadian Senate. William Petten was a customs broker for fish exporters before being appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

in 1968. A Liberal, he represented the senatorial division of Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador. He retired on his 75th birthday in 1998. He twice was the Government Whip in the Senate (1974–1979 and 1980–1984) and twice the Opposition Whip in the Senate (1979-1980 and 1985-1991). In 2000, the Petten Building, the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial fisheries and

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

building in St. John's, was named after the late William J. Petten.Provincial fisheries building named after the late Senator Petten
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Petten, William 1923 births 1999 deaths Canadian senators from Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party of Canada senators Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Customs brokers