Michael Forrestall

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Michael Forrestall
Member of Parliament
for Halifax
In office
1965–1968
Preceded byGerald Regan
Succeeded byRiding dissolved
Member of Parliament
for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour
In office
1968–1988
Preceded byRiding created
Succeeded byRon MacDonald
Personal details
Born
John Michael William Curphey Forrestall

(1932-09-23)September 23, 1932
Deep Brook, Nova Scotia
DiedJune 8, 2006(2006-06-08) (aged 73)
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Political partyProgressive Conservative
ProfessionJournalist, businessman

John Michael William Curphey Forrestall (September 23, 1932 – June 8, 2006), known as Michael Forrestall, was a Canadian politician. Forrestall served in both the Senate of Canada and House of Commons of Canada.

Political career[edit]

A Nova Scotia journalist and businessman, Forrestall was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1965 federal election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was elected the MP for Dartmouth—Halifax East in the 1968 election, and remained in the House for a total of twenty-three years.

During the Brian Mulroney government, Forrestall served as a parliamentary secretary to a succession of ministers until he was defeated in what was by then the riding of Dartmouth in the 1988 federal election. In November 1990, Prime Minister Mulroney appointed Forrestall to the Senate of Canada, where he sat as a Progressive Conservative until February 2004, when he and most of the Tory caucus joined the new Conservative Party of Canada. Forrestall was active on a number of causes, including benefits for Canadian Merchant Navy veterans and the protection of lighthouses.

In 2000, he introduced a Private Members Bill in the Senate Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, a bill which was also supported by Senator Pat Carney who championed it after Forrestall's death and which is close to passing in the House of Commons in 2007.[1] Forrestall's brother is the Canadian realist painter, Tom Forrestall; their sister Katherine was the mother of singer-songwriter Matthew Grimson.[2]

Death[edit]

Forrestall died on June 8, 2006, at age 73;[3] he had been admitted to a Halifax-area hospital with serious breathing problems five days earlier.[4]

Electoral history[edit]

1988 Canadian federal election: Dartmouth—Cole Harbour
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Ron MacDonald 21,958 46.19 +20.09
Progressive Conservative Michael Forrestall 19,863 41.78 -13.17
New Democratic Marty Zelenietz 5,162 10.86 -8.09
Libertarian Stanley Hodder 447 0.94
Independent Charles Spurr 109 0.23
Total valid votes 47,539 100.00
1984 Canadian federal election: Dartmouth—Cole Harbour
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Michael Forrestall 27,549 54.95 +13.10
Liberal Rae Austin 13,084 26.10 -11.63
New Democratic Ken Hale 9,503 18.95 -1.46
Total valid votes 50,136 100.00
1980 Canadian federal election: Dartmouth—Cole Harbour
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Michael Forrestall 17,968 41.85 -6.87
Liberal Rae Austin 16,200 37.73 +2.62
New Democratic Nelson Reed 8,764 20.41 +4.24
Total valid votes 42,932 100.00


1979 Canadian federal election: Dartmouth—Cole Harbour
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Michael Forrestall 21,441 48.72 -2.74
Liberal John Savage 15,453 35.11 -5.53
New Democratic Frederick Turley 7,116 16.17 +9.00
Total valid votes 44,010 100.00
1974 Canadian federal election: Dartmouth—Cole Harbour
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Michael Forrestall 22,090 51.46 -6.02
Liberal Arnold Patterson 17,444 40.64 +8.93
New Democratic Alfred Nieforth 3,076 7.17 -3.03
Social Credit Anthony Morbee 181 0.42 -0.19
Marxist–Leninist Mike Malloch 135 0.31
Total valid votes 42,926 100.00
1972 Canadian federal election: Dartmouth—Cole Harbour
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Michael Forrestall 24,553 57.48 +2.31
Liberal John Savage 13,543 31.71 -8.71
New Democratic Norman Dares 4,358 10.20 +5.80
Social Credit Brian Pitcairn 261 0.61
Total valid votes 42,715 100.00
1968 Canadian federal election: Dartmouth—Cole Harbour
Party Candidate Votes %
Progressive Conservative Michael Forrestall 19,694 55.17
Liberal Arnie Patterson 14, 429 40.42
New Democratic Edward Newell 1,572 4.40
Total valid votes 35,695 100.00
1965 Canadian federal election: Halifax
Party Candidate Votes % Elected
Progressive Conservative Robert McCleave 46,007 25.08 Green tickY
Progressive Conservative Michael Forrestall 40,983 22.34 Green tickY
Liberal John Lloyd 39,942 21.77  
Liberal Robert J. Butler 38,191 20.82  
New Democratic Jim Aitchison 8,983 4.90  
New Democratic Bruce Wallace 8,387 4.57  
Independent Ignatius Jeriome Kennedy 950 0.52  
Total valid votes 183,443 100.00

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Lighthouse Bill Protecting Our Lighthouses - The Icons of Canada's Maritime Heritage", Canadian Heritage Foundation Featured Heritage Buildings by Douglas Franklin here Archived 2008-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Matthew George Grimson: Mar 9, 1968 – Jun 19, 2018". Legacy.com.
  3. ^ Michael Forrestall – Parliament of Canada biography
  4. ^ "Senator in hospital". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on 2012-10-13. Retrieved 2006-06-09.