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♂ W. Heward Grafftey
aliasW. Heward Grafftey
Record
23986 · 883

☆   Anglican    Gay (openly)
Type of record
Elected candidate ✓
Known but unelected candidate
Perennial candidate		 Deceased Performance: 58%
  ✓ ✗ ∑
Canada 7 5 12
Birth 5 August 1928 → 95 years + 8 months ago
Lived 81 years + 6 months
First mandate 31 March 1958 → 66 years + 29 days ago
↳ at age 29 years + 7 months
Death 11 February 2010 → 14 years + 2 months ago
Exit → Death 29 years + 11 months after 17 February 1980
Special notes
Grafftey was not openly gay while he was an MP.
 
W. Heward Grafftey (1928–2010)
© Photo 1979 House of Commons (Canada) — Fair trade
Family tie with other documented individual
None
 
Well that's interesting!
Serving seven discontinuous terms as the MP for Brome—Missisquoi, Grafftey short stature and impish appearance earned him the nickname of "The Gnome from Brome." He remained a Progressive Conservative even after that party ceased to exist. Never denying or confirming that he was gay, the divorced father of three once said, "I never had to come out, because it was never an issue. I was never in. I was always me." But towards the end of his life, he disrupted and stormed out of an Anglican service in Montreal after the priest delivered what he considered to be a homophobic sermon.
 

Length of service in elected office

Legislature Total Government Opposition
years months days years months days years months days
Canada 17 6 7

Electoral history

Races 12  
Path points 12  
6 documented challengers
⊕ André Bachand  m 
⊖ Yves Forest  m  (2 runoffs)
⊖ Christian Ouellet  m 
 		 ⊖ Joseph-Léon Deslières  m 
⊖ Maurice Hallé  m 
⊕ Denis Paradis  m  (2 runoffs)
 
Eligible: 22,368 Votes: 18,001 Participation: 80.48% Candidacies: 2
Federal
23		 Québec
10 June 1957
General
First-past-the-post
Gov't  PC  Minority
ID: 24130(F) — 16 Aug 2021 01:28 ET
✗
 Defeated but elected later to Parliament
Age
28
PC
 2/2 8,605 48.18% -650 Winner:
LIB
 9,255 51.82% Joseph-Léon Deslières
Eligible: 22,368 Votes: 18,454 Participation: 82.50% Candidacies: 2
Federal
24		 Québec
31 March 1958
General
First-past-the-post
Gov't  PC  Majority
ID: 24396(F) — 16 Aug 2021 01:28 ET
✓
 → New to Parliament
Age
29
PC
 1/2 11,361 61.56% +4,268 Loser:
LIB
 7,093 38.44% Maurice Hallé

Service: 4 years 2 months 17 days (Gov't)
Eligible: inc. Votes: 19,301 Participation: inc. Candidacies: 3
Federal
25		 Québec
18 June 1962
General
First-past-the-post
Gov't  PC  Minority
ID: 24673(F) — 16 Aug 2021 01:28 ET
✓
 Re-elected incumbent
Age
33
PC
 1/3 8,074 41.83% +445 Loser:
LIB
 7,629 39.53% Marc Hudon

Service: 9 months 20 days (Gov't)
Eligible: inc. Votes: 18,840 Participation: inc. Candidacies: 4
Federal
26		 Québec
8 April 1963
General
First-past-the-post
Gov't  LIB  Minority
ID: 24937(F) — 16 Aug 2021 01:28 ET
✓
 Re-elected incumbent
Age
34
PC
 1/4 8,411 44.64% +1,306 Loser:
LIB
 7,105 37.71% Léo Duquette

Service: 2 years 6 months 30 days (Oppo.)
Eligible: 25,095 Votes: 19,562 Participation: 77.95% Candidacies: 4
Federal
27		 Québec
8 November 1965
General
First-past-the-post
Gov't  LIB  Minority
ID: 25206(F) — 16 Aug 2021 01:29 ET
✓
 Re-elected incumbent
Age
37
PC
 1/4 9,662 49.99% +2,150 Loser:
LIB
 7,512 38.86% Jean-Louis Cardin

Service: 2 years 7 months 16 days (Oppo.)
Eligible: inc. Votes: 30,618 Participation: inc. Candidacies: 4
Federal
28		 Québec
25 June 1968
General
First-past-the-post
Gov't  LIB  Majority
ID: 10097(F) — 16 Aug 2021 01:29 ET
✗
 Defeated incumbent →
Age
39
PC
 2/4 11,705 38.23% -1,200 Winner:
LIB
 12,905 42.15% Yves Forest
Eligible: 48,067 Votes: 37,591 Participation: 78.21% Candidacies: 4
Federal
29		 Québec
30 October 1972
General
First-past-the-post
Gov't  LIB  Minority
ID: 10347(F) — 16 Aug 2021 01:29 ET
✓
 → Returned to Parliament after hiatus
Age
44
PC
 1/4 15,593 41.48% +3,428 Loser:
LIB
 12,165 32.36% Yves Forest

Service: 1 year 8 months 7 days (Oppo.)
Eligible: 51,019 Votes: 38,680 Participation: 75.81% Candidacies: 4
Federal
30		 Québec
8 July 1974
General
First-past-the-post
Gov't  LIB  Majority
ID: 10576(F) — 16 Aug 2021 01:29 ET
✓
 Re-elected incumbent
Age
45
PC
 1/4 19,490 51.61% +5,984 Loser:
LIB
 13,506 35.76% C. Peter Turner

Service: 4 years 10 months 13 days (Oppo.)
Eligible: 50,376 Votes: 37,881 Participation: 75.20% Candidacies: 5
Federal
31		 Québec
22 May 1979
General
First-past-the-post
Gov't  PC  Minority
ID: 4520(F) — 16 Aug 2021 01:29 ET
✓
 Re-elected incumbent
Age
50
PC
 1/5 18,198 48.04% +1,815 Loser:
LIB
 16,383 43.25% Gisèle V. Noël

Service: 8 months 26 days (Gov't)
Eligible: 50,376 Votes: 37,947 Participation: 75.33% Candidacies: 5
Federal
32		 Québec
18 February 1980
General
First-past-the-post
Gov't  LIB  Majority
ID: 4238(F) — 16 Aug 2021 01:29 ET
✗
 Defeated incumbent →
Age
51
PC
 2/5 15,413 40.86% -4,609 Winner:
LIB
 20,022 53.08% André Bachand
Eligible: 66,730 Votes: 43,853 Participation: 65.72% Candidacies: 5
Federal
37		 Québec
27 November 2000
General
First-past-the-post
Gov't  LIB  Majority
ID: 2762(F) — 16 Aug 2021 01:29 ET
✗
 Failed comeback to Parliament
Age
72
PC
 3/5 5,502 12.84% -16,043 Winner:
LIB
 21,545 50.26% Denis Paradis
Eligible: 74,088 Votes: 49,074 Participation: 66.24% Candidacies: 6
Federal
39		 Québec
23 January 2006
General
First-past-the-post
Gov't  CPC  Minority
ID: 691(F) — 16 Aug 2021 01:29 ET
✗
 Failed comeback to Parliament
Age
77
PCP
 5/6 1,921 3.96% -16,675 Winner:
BQ
 18,596 38.33% Christian Ouellet

Online biographical references (4)

Bilingual references are counted as a single reference.  Retrieved on
EN Non-standard link
Alan Hustak, The Globe and Mail (11 February 2010), Heward Grafftey, 'bad boy of Montreal's blue bloods,' passes away		 25 Feb 2024
EN Parliament of Canada (ParlInfo)
The Hon. William Heward Grafftey, P.C., Q.C.		 25 Feb 2024
FR Parlement du Canada (ParlInfo)
L'hon. William Heward Grafftey, C.P., c.r.		 25 Feb 2024
EN Wikipedia
Heward Grafftey		 25 Feb 2024
FR Wikipédia
Heward Grafftey		 25 Feb 2024

© 2019, 2024 :: PoliCan.ca (Maurice Y. Michaud)
Pub.: 22 Jun 2019 17:01
Rev.: 25 Feb 2024 22:32 (but data presented dynamically)

© 2019-2024 :: PoliCan.ca
Given that electoral results are by their very nature public information, such data that can be found in PoliCan are considered to be in the public domain. However, unless indicated otherwise, all other elements — the concept of consolidating these data into a single format, the detailed research on each election, legislature and candidate, the organization and searchability of the data, the programming allowing the entry and maintenance of the data, as well as the analyses and explanatory articles found in this website — are the intellectual property of Maurice Y. Michaud.