Bobbie Sparrow

Barbara Jane Sparrow PC (born July 11, 1935) is a retired Canadian politician.

The Honourable Bobbie Sparrow PC
Minister of Energy, Mines, and Resources
In office June 25, 1993 – November 3, 1993
Prime Minister	Kim Campbell
Preceded by	Bill McKnight
Succeeded by	Anne McLellan
Minister of Forestry
In office June 25, 1993 – November 3, 1993
Prime Minister	Kim Campbell
Preceded by	Frank Oberle Sr.
Succeeded by	Anne McLellan
Member of Parliament for Calgary Southwest (Calgary South; 1984–1988)
In office September 4, 1984 – October 25, 1993
Preceded by	John William Thomson
Succeeded by	Preston Manning
Personal details
Born	Barbara Jane Sparrow (1935-07-11) July 11, 1935 (age 90) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Profession	Registered Nurse, businesswoman, politician

Political career

Sparrow, a Registered Nurse and businessperson, was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1984 federal election as Member of Parliament for the Alberta riding of Calgary South.^[1] That election brought the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to power under the leadership of Brian Mulroney. In that election she won the biggest plurality in Canadian history up to that time with 47,763 more votes than second place runner-up Harold Millican from the Liberal Party of Canada.^[2]

Redistribution of federal ridings by Elections Canada prior to the 1988 federal election abolished Sparrow's riding; in 1988, she ran and won in the new riding of Calgary Southwest. In 1991, she was named parliamentary secretary to the Minister of National Health and Welfare.^[1]

When Kim Campbell succeeded Mulroney as PC leader and prime minister in 1993, she brought Sparrow into the Cabinet as Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources and Minister of Forestry.^[1]

Both Sparrow and the Campbell government were defeated in the subsequent 1993 federal election that reduced the Tories to only two seats in the House of Commons. Sparrow lost her seat to Reform Party leader Preston Manning.^[3][4]

Electoral record

v t e 1993 Canadian federal election: Calgary Southwest
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Reform	Preston Manning	41,630	61.22	+47.80	$59,445
	Progressive Conservative	Bobbie Sparrow	12,642	18.59	-46.57	$61,978
	Liberal	Bill Richards	11,087	16.30	+4.77	$60,511
	New Democratic	Catherine Rose	1,099	1.62	-6.49	$4,791
	National	Lea Russell	910	1.34		$2,580
	Green	Sol Candel	301	0.44		$6,216
	Natural Law	Ida Bugmann	249	0.37		$0
	Independent	Miel S.R. Gabriel	57	0.08		$218
	Communist	Darrell Rankin	28	0.04		$1,422
Total valid votes			68,003	100.00
Rejected ballots			137
Turnout			68,140	70.81
Electors on lists			96,213
	Reform gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		+47.19
Source:Thirty-fifth General Election, 1993: Official Voting Results, Published by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Financial figures taken from official contributions and expenses provided by Elections Canada.

1988 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive Conservative	Bobbie Sparrow	40,397	65.16
	Reform	Janet Jessop	8,316	13.41
	Liberal	Percy Baker	7,147	11.53
	New Democratic	Vera Vogel	5,024	8.10
	Independent	Larry R. Heather	669	1.08
	Rhinoceros	Johnny Barretto	372	0.60
	Confederation of Regions	Bill Sinclair	68	0.11
Total valid votes			61,993	100.00

1984 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Progressive Conservative	Bobbie Sparrow	55,590
	Liberal	Harold Millican	7,827
	New Democratic	Brendan Quigley	6,135
	Confederation of Regions	Phyllis Kobley	866
	Independent	Larry Heather	800
	Commonwealth of Canada	Bill Bohdan	136