Tony Abbott (Canadian politician)
| Clarke Anthony Abbott | |
|---|---|
| MLA for Drayton Valley-Calmar | |
|
In office March 12, 2001 – March 3, 2008 |
|
| Preceded by | Tom Thurber |
| Succeeded by | Diana McQueen |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 24, 1966 York County, Ontario |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Occupation | pastor |
Clarke Anthony (Tony) Abbott (born November 24, 1966) is a Canadian politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He represented Drayton Valley-Calmar and sat as a Progressive Conservative from 2001 until 2008.
Abbott was born November 24, 1966 in York County, Ontario. In 1988 he graduated from Christianview Bible College with a Bachelor of Theology. He came west to serve as Senior Pastor of the Faith Evangelical Covenant Church in Breton, Alberta, a position that he held from 1989 until 2000. In 1998 he was elected trustee for the Wild Rose school division. He served one term in this capacity, and did not seek re-election in 2001.
Abbott first sought election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 2001 election, when he ran as a Progressive Conservative in Drayton Valley-Calmar. He won, taking approximately 68% of the vote. He was re-elected in the 2004 election with a reduced 59% majority. In the 2006 leadership election, he was the first MLA to back Ted Morton's leadership bid.
In October 2007, Abbott was defeated by Drayton Valley mayor Diana McQueen in his bid to again secure the P.C. nomination for the 2008 election. He later publicly speculated about running for one of the province's other conservative parties, such as the Alberta Alliance, the Social Credit Party, or the Wildrose Party. He ultimately did not run, citing a fear of splitting the conservative vote with McQueen and expressing his support for Progressive Conservative leader Ed Stelmach, who he called a "great man".
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