Bryce Mackasey
Encyclopedia
Bryce Stuart Mackasey, PC
(August 25, 1921 – September 5, 1999) was a Canadian
Member of Parliament
, Cabinet minister, and Ambassador to Portugal
.
Born in Quebec City
, Quebec
, he was elected as a Liberal
candidate in the riding of Verdun
in the 1962 federal election
. He was re-elected in the 1963
, 1965
, 1968
, 1972
, and 1974 elections
. He resigned in 1976 to run in the Quebec provincial election
that year, and was elected to the Quebec National Assembly for the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
. He resigned in 1978 to run in a federal by-election in the riding of Ottawa Centre
, but was defeated. From 1978 to 1979, he served briefly as President of Air Canada
. He was re-elected in the riding of Lincoln
in the 1980 election
.
He held numerous ministerial positions including Labour, Manpower and Immigration, Secretary of State, Postmaster General of Canada
and Consumer and Corporate Affairs.
When Mackasey left office in 1984 Prime Minister
John Turner
appointed him Ambassador to Portugal; this led to Conservative
leader Brian Mulroney
's famous comment about patronage, "There's no whore like an old whore". Mulroney canceled the appointment shortly after he was elected and appointed Liberal former Speaker of the House Lloyd Francis in Mackasey's place.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
(August 25, 1921 – September 5, 1999) was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Member of Parliament
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
, Cabinet minister, and Ambassador to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
Born in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, he was elected as a Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
candidate in the riding of Verdun
Verdun (electoral district)
Verdun was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1949 and from 1953 to 2004.Verdun—La Salle riding, which covered much of the same area, was represented in the House of Commons...
in the 1962 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1962
The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 25th Parliament of Canada...
. He was re-elected in the 1963
Canadian federal election, 1963
The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in...
, 1965
Canadian federal election, 1965
The Canadian federal election of 1965 was held on November 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 27th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was re-elected with a larger number of seats in the House...
, 1968
Canadian federal election, 1968
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...
, 1972
Canadian federal election, 1972
The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive...
, and 1974 elections
Canadian federal election, 1974
The Canadian federal election of 1974 was held on July 8, 1974 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 30th Parliament of Canada. The governing Liberal Party won its first majority government since 1968, and gave Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau his third term...
. He resigned in 1976 to run in the Quebec provincial election
Quebec general election, 1976
The Quebec general election of 1976 was held on November 15, 1976 to elect members to National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled only by the 1960 general election, and caused major repercussions in the rest of Canada...
that year, and was elected to the Quebec National Assembly for the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (provincial electoral district)
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec.The riding was created in 1939 from parts of the former Westmount provincial electoral district. The riding was called Montreal-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce from 1939 to 1965 and...
. He resigned in 1978 to run in a federal by-election in the riding of Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968...
, but was defeated. From 1978 to 1979, he served briefly as President of Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...
. He was re-elected in the riding of Lincoln
Lincoln (electoral district)
Lincoln was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1883 and from 1904 to 1997. It was on the Niagara Peninsula in the Canadian province of Ontario...
in the 1980 election
Canadian federal election, 1980
The Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 32nd Parliament of Canada...
.
He held numerous ministerial positions including Labour, Manpower and Immigration, Secretary of State, Postmaster General of Canada
Postmaster General of Canada
The Postmaster General of Canada was the Canadian cabinet minister responsible for the Post Office Department . In 1851, management of the post office was transferred from Britain to the provincial governments of the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward...
and Consumer and Corporate Affairs.
When Mackasey left office in 1984 Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
John Turner
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....
appointed him Ambassador to Portugal; this led to Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
leader Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
's famous comment about patronage, "There's no whore like an old whore". Mulroney canceled the appointment shortly after he was elected and appointed Liberal former Speaker of the House Lloyd Francis in Mackasey's place.