Eric Linkord Byfield (December 5, 1951 – January 24, 2015) was a Canadian news columnist, author, and politician.

Columnist and writer

Byfield was editor and publisher for the now defunct ''

Alberta Report The ''Alberta Report'' was a conservative weekly newsmagazine based in Edmonton. It was founded and edited by Ted Byfield, and later run by his son, Link Byfield. It ceased publication in 2003. Promoting his own successor publication in 2004, ...

'' magazine for eighteen years.Profile
, ccfd.ca; accessed January 26, 2015. One of six siblings born to

Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

, a conservative columnist, and Virginia Byfield, Link became a columnist for the ''

Calgary Sun The ''Calgary Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia. First published in 1980, the tabloid-format daily replaced the long-running tabloid-size newspaper ''The Albertan'' soon after it was acq ...

''Link Byfield's ''Calgary Sun'' columns
canoe.ca; accessed January 26, 2015. and occasionally was published in the ''Calgary Herald'', ''National Post'',Link Byfield on The West: Don’t tell us what to do
''National Post'', April 6, 2009 ''Globe and Mail''Column, ''Globe and Mail'', September 30, 2000 and ''Winnipeg Free Press''.
''Winnipeg Free Press '', February 24, 2009.

Lobbyist

Byfield founded the Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy, a lobby group dedicated to "advocating responsible government."Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy homepage
ccfd.ca; accessed January 26, 2015.

Senator in waiting

Byfield was the first to declare his candidacy for the

2004 Alberta Senate nominee election The 2004 Alberta Senate nominee election, formally the 3rd Alberta Senate nominee election of Alberta was held on November 22, 2004, to nominate appointments to the Senate of Canada. The Senate nominee election was held in conjunction with the 20 ...

on September 27, 2004.Link Byfield declares Senate candidacy
, citizenscentre.com; accessed January 26, 2014. He decided to remain independent of the other parties, and was one of two independent senator-in-waiting candidates (the other being

Tom Sindlinger Thomas L. Sindlinger (born September 2, 1941) is a politician in Alberta, Canada, and former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He was born in Camrose, Alberta. Tom Sindlinger was elected as a member for the district of Calgary-Buffa ...

). He was elected to the 4th and final spot in the block vote with 236,382 votes. He is the first independent senator-in-waiting, and the first independent elected in an Alberta election since

Raymond Speaker Raymond Albert "Ray" Speaker, (born December 13, 1935) is a Canadian farmer and politician. Speaker was born and raised in Enchant, Alberta, where he farms to this day. He was an elected official at the federal and provincial levels for 34 years, ...

and

Walt Buck Walter Alexander Buck (December 16, 1930 – March 14, 2013) was a provincial politician and dentist from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta (MLA) from 1967 to 1989. During his time in office he served i ...

in 1982. In 2005, Byfield received the

Alberta Centennial Medal The Alberta Centennial Medal is a commemorative medal celebrating Alberta's first 100 years of participating in Canadian Confederation. History In 2005, the ''Alberta Centennial Medal Act'' established the Alberta Centennial Medal. Purpose The ...

Provincial politics

Byfield helped found the

Wildrose Party of Alberta The Wildrose Party of Alberta was a centre-right political organization founded in Alberta, Canada in 2007. The organization took its name from Alberta's provincial flower. On January 19, 2008, the members merged with the Alberta Alliance Party t ...

in 2007, which merged with the

Alberta Alliance Party The Alberta Alliance was a right wing provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Many of its members were supporters of the defunct Canadian Alliance federal political party and its predecessor, the Reform Party of Canada. Members also joined f ...

on January 19, 2008, shortly before a provincial general election was called. He unsuccessfully contested the riding of Whitecourt-Ste. Anne for the post-merger

Wildrose Alliance The Wildrose Party (legally Wildrose Political Association, formerly the ''Wildrose Alliance Political Association'') was a Conservatism in Canada, conservative provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. The party was formed by the merger i ...

in that 2008 election. The party dropped "Alliance" from its name for media purposes prior to the 2012 general election and Byfield ran as the

Wildrose Party The Wildrose Party (legally Wildrose Political Association, formerly the ''Wildrose Alliance Political Association'') was a conservative provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. The party was formed by the merger in early 2008 of the Albe ...

candidate for

Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting from 2004 to 2019. The Barrhead-Morin ...

in that April

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

. He lost by a narrow margin, falling short of the Progressive Conservative candidate by less than 5% of the vote.

Death

On January 24, 2015, Byfield died of

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

and

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voice ...

, aged 63, in the Sturgeon Community Hospital in St. Albert, Alberta, just north of Edmonton. He was survived by his father, his wife Joanne, four children and four siblings. A tribute held in Byfield's honour at Calgary's Manning Centre for Building Democracy in September feted him as a key figure in western conservatism.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byfield, Link 1951 births 2015 deaths Canadian activists Canadian magazine publishers (people) Deaths from cancer in Alberta Wildrose Party candidates in Alberta provincial elections Politicians from Calgary Politicians from Ottawa