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 of ...

for

Calgary South Calgary South was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1953 to 1988. This riding was created in 1952 from parts of Bow River, Calgary West and Calgary East ridings. It was a ...

. 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 d ...

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 is not ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

promoted him to

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

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 o ...

. 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 Peter Colwell Bawden, (January 1, 1929 – February 28, 1991) was a prominent Canadians, Canadian oilman and federal politician. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1972 Canadian federal election, 1972, representing the ridin ...

, 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 The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

." Subsequent to his defeat, Mahoney, a lawyer by training, was appointed to the Federal Court of Appeal. Mahoney joined the Calgary Stampeders 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 The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

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 Western Football Conference may refer to: * Canadian Football League West Division, one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League * Western Football Conference (United States) The Western Football Conference was an NCAA Divisi ...

. 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 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 ...

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 were elected in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

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

References

External links

* {{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