Bill Casey

William D. "Bill" Casey (born February 19, 1945) is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada. First elected as a Progressive Conservative in 1988, he later sat as Conservative MP following the party merger in 2003. In 2007, Casey was expelled from the party for voting against the 2007 budget, but he was reelected as an Independent in the 2008 election and sat as such until he resigned his seat in 2009 to work on behalf of the Nova Scotian government for provincial interests in Ottawa. Casey decided to return to federal politics in the 2015 federal election and running as a Liberal easily took the seat with 63.73% of the popular vote.

For the former Central Intelligence Agency director, see William J. Casey. For other people named Bill Casey, see William Casey (disambiguation).

Bill Casey
Chair of the Standing Committee on Health
In office February 3, 2016 – October 21, 2019
Preceded by	Ben Lobb
Succeeded by	Ron McKinnon
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Cumberland—Colchester
In office October 19, 2015 – September 11, 2019
Preceded by	first member
Succeeded by	Lenore Zann
In office June 2, 1997 – June 28, 2004
Preceded by	Dianne Brushett
Succeeded by	Riding Abolished
In office November 21, 1988 – October 25, 1993
Preceded by	Robert C. Coates
Succeeded by	Dianne Brushett
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley
In office June 28, 2004 – April 30, 2009
Preceded by	Riding Established
Succeeded by	Scott Armstrong
Personal details
Born	(1945-02-19) February 19, 1945 Amherst, Nova Scotia
Political party	Liberal (2014-present)
Other political affiliations	Progressive Conservative (1988-2003) Conservative (2003-2007) Independent (2007-2014)
Spouse(s)	Rosemary Casey
Residence	Amherst, Nova Scotia
Profession	Businessman, stockbroker

Life and career

Bill Casey conducting an interview, 2018.

Casey was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia. He was a businessman and stockbroker before going into politics. He was first elected, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, to represent the riding of Cumberland—Colchester in the 1988 election. In common with almost every other PC Member of Parliament (MP) in the 1993 election he lost his seat, in his case being defeated by Liberal candidate Dianne Brushett.[1]

In the 1997 election, he retook the seat, defeating Brushett,[2] and represented it until April 30, 2009.

In 2003, the PCs merged into the new Conservative Party. He was the deputy whip of the Official Opposition from 2004 until the 2006 election, and had served as the Conservative critic of Transport, International Trade, National Revenue, and Foreign Affairs in the past.

When the Conservatives' 2007 budget was released, Casey praised it, saying "I have never seen a budget that has had more in it for the people of my riding than this one does."[3] However, on June 5, 2007, he voted against it, claiming that it broke the Atlantic Accord with his province and Newfoundland and Labrador. He was expelled from the Conservative caucus, and sat as an Independent MP.[4] He styled himself as an Independent Progressive Conservative.[5]

In October 2007, the Conservative Party riding association in Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley renominated Casey as its candidate for the 2008 election. The party's head office refused to accept Casey's nomination, and suspended the association's board.[6]

On January 31, 2008 Casey underwent surgery for prostate cancer. His surgery was a success and all the cancer was removed. Casey previously had to have a cancerous growth removed from his back.[7]

On September 4, the Green Party of Canada declared its support for his candidacy and announced that they would not run a candidate against him in the 2008 election.[8] On October 14, 2008, Casey was re-elected as an independent by winning 69% of the popular vote. His nearest opponent was Karen Olsen of the New Democrats with just 12% of the vote.[9]

During the 2008 Canadian parliamentary dispute, Casey announced he would vote against Harper in a motion of non-confidence.[10] He announced in January 2009 that he would not run for re-election in the next federal election[11] However, on April 28, 2009, Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald announced that Casey would be the senior representative for the Department of Intergovernmental Affairs in Ottawa for the province, replacing Ian Thompson.[12] Casey officially resigned his seat April 30.

On November 18, 2014, Casey announced he was running for the Liberal nomination in his former riding for the 2015 federal election[13] and won the nomination vote on February 28, 2015.[14][15] On October 19, 2015, Casey won the election, defeating Conservative incumbent Scott Armstrong.[16][17][18]

In September 2018, Casey announced that he would not run in the 2019 election.[19]

Personal life

Casey was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in 2006 and underwent two surgeries to have the cancerous mole removed.[20] He battled prostate cancer and underwent surgery in early February 2008.[21][22]

Electoral record

2015 Canadian federal election: Cumberland—Colchester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Bill Casey	29,527	63.73	+45.35	–
	Conservative	Scott Armstrong	12,257	26.45	–26.48	–
	New Democratic	Wendy Robinson	2,647	5.71	–16.77	–
	Green	Jason Matthew Blanch	1,650	3.56	–1.81	–
	Independent	Kenneth Jackson	181	0.39	–	–
	Independent	Richard Trueman Plett	70	0.15	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			46,332	100.0		$206,116.04
Total rejected ballots			178	0.38	–0.25
Turnout			46,510	71.64	+13.30
Eligible voters			64,923
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+35.92
Source: Elections Canada[23][24]

2008 Canadian federal election: Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Independent	Bill Casey	27,303	69.01	+16.97	$68,549.58
	New Democratic	Karen Olsson	4,874	12.32	-8.42	$6,944.11
	Conservative	Joel Bernard	3,493	8.83	-43.21	$35,846.73
	Liberal	Tracy Parsons	3,344	8.45	-15.44	$28,266.26
	Independent	Rick Simpson	550	1.39	+0.17	none listed
Total valid votes/Expense limit			39,564	100.0		$84,518
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			201	0.51	+0.04
Turnout			39,765	57.77	-4.08
Eligible voters			68,831
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing		+12.68

2006 Canadian federal election: Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Bill Casey	22,439	52.04	+1.55	$50,744.39
	Liberal	Gary Richard	10,299	23.89	-2.60	$30,783.20
	New Democratic	Margaret Sagar	8,944	20.74	+1.83	$15,901.38
	Green	Bruce Farrell	910	2.11	-1.00	$118.51
	Independent	Rick Simpson	524	1.22	–	$253.00
Total valid votes/Expense limit			43,116	100.0		$79,110
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			203	0.47	-0.01
Turnout			43,319	61.85
Eligible voters			70,036
	Conservative hold		Swing		+2.08

2004 Canadian federal election: North Nova
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Bill Casey	20,188	50.49	-9.99	$63,528.46
	Liberal	Dianne Brushett	10,591	26.49	+0.13	$40,391.55
	New Democratic	Margaret Sagar	7,560	18.91	+5.87	$14,509.58
	Green	Sheila Richardson	1,245	3.11	–	$1,050.38
	Progressive Canadian	Jack Moors	399	1.00	–	$553.10
Total valid votes/Expense limit			39,983	100.0		$76,024
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			192	0.48
Turnout			40,175	60.46	-0.32
Eligible voters			66,451
	Conservative notional gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		-5.06
Changes from 2000 are based on redistributed results. Conservative Party change is based on the combination of Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party totals.

2000 Canadian federal election: Cumberland—Colchester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Bill Casey	18,716	48.49	+4.86
	Liberal	Dianne Brushett	10,271	26.61	+0.82
	Alliance	Bryden Ryan	4,981	12.91	-1.08
	New Democratic	James Harpell	4,629	11.99	-2.21
Total valid votes			38,597	100.00
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		2.84

1997 Canadian federal election: Cumberland—Colchester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Bill Casey	18,610	43.63	+7.15
	Liberal	Dianne Brushett	11,002	25.79	-16.80
	New Democratic	Peter Stewart	6,058	14.20	+8.64
	Reform	Bob Peterson	5,970	13.99	+0.80
	Independent	Ray Merriam	826	1.94
	Natural Law	Phyllis Hall	193	0.45	-0.28
Total valid votes			42,659	100.00
	Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+11.98

1993 Canadian federal election: Cumberland—Colchester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Dianne Brushett	18,195	42.59	+1.03
	Progressive Conservative	Bill Casey	15,582	36.48	-9.71
	Reform	Audrey Staples	5,636	13.19
	New Democratic	Barbara Jack	2,374	5.56	-3.76
	Christian Heritage	Steve McLean	618	1.45	-1.02
	Natural Law	Phyllis Hall	312	0.73
Total valid votes			42,717	100.00
	Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		+5.37

1988 Canadian federal election: Cumberland—Colchester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Bill Casey	20,384	46.19	-11.10
	Liberal	Dennis James	18,340	41.56	+11.96
	New Democratic	Barbara Jack	4,112	9.32	-3.78
	Christian Heritage	Norman W. Pearce	1,088	2.47
	Independent	Bob Kirk	210	0.48
Total valid votes			44,134	100.00
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-11.53

References

1. "Atlantic region hands Liberals near-clean sweep". The Chronicle Herald. October 26, 1993. Archived from the original on November 21, 2001. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
2. "Casey cruises back to power". The Chronicle Herald. June 3, 1997. Archived from the original on November 30, 2001. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
3. MP Casey surprised at controversy caused by budget Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, Truro Daily News, March 22, 2007.
4. "Tory MP ejected from caucus after budget vote". CBC News. June 5, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
5. "N.S. premier urges revolt against federal budget". CTV News. June 10, 2007. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
6. "Riding uproar over Tories' decision to oust executive". CanWest News Service. October 29, 2007. Archived from the original on September 6, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
7. "Surgery a success: Bill Casey recovering at home following prostate operation". Amherst Daily News. February 4, 2008. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
8. "Green Party will not run against Bill Casey" (Press release). Green Party of Canada. September 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
9. "Harper bets the House, wins another minority". The Globe and Mail. October 15, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
10. "Casey to vote non-confidence against his former party". Metro News Halifax. December 1, 2008. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
11. "Independent MP Casey won't seek re-election". CBC News. January 13, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
12. "Turfed Tory Casey to be Nova Scotia's chief lobbyist in Ottawa". CBC News. April 28, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
13. "Former MP Bill Casey wants to run for federal Liberals next year". CBC News. November 18, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
14. "Bill Casey is the Liberal Candidate for Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley". CBC News. February 28, 2015.
15. "Casey wins Cumberland Colchester Liberal nomination for upcoming federal election". Truro Daily News. February 28, 2015. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
16. "Bill Casey snatches Cumberland-Colchester from Conservatives". CBC News. October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
17. "Bill Casey 'glad to be part of the change'". The Chronicle Herald. October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
18. "Bill Casey takes Liberal seat in historic Cumberland-Colchester win". Global News. October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
19. "MP Bill Vasey will not seek re-election in 2019". Truro Daily News. September 19, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
20. Cole, Darrell (May 29, 2014). "Amid warnings on melanoma rates, former MP Bill Casey shares his cancer story". The Amherst News. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
21. "Nova Scotia MP Bill Casey on mend after prostate cancer surgery". Cape Breton Post. February 28, 2008. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
22. "Nova Scotia MP Bill Casey expects full recovery from prostate cancer". CBC News. March 13, 2008. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
23. "October 19, 2015 Election Results — Cumberland—Colchester (Validated results)". Elections Canada. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
24. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Bill Casey
• Bill Casey – Parliament of Canada biography