Michael Forrestall

The Honourable Michael Forrestall PC
Member of Parliament for Halifax
In office 1965–1968
Preceded by	Gerald Regan
Succeeded by	Riding dissolved
Member of Parliament for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour
In office 1968–1988
Preceded by	Riding created
Succeeded by	Ron MacDonald
Personal details
Born	(1932-09-23)September 23, 1932 Deep Brook, Nova Scotia
Died	June 8, 2006(2006-06-08) (aged 73) Halifax, Nova Scotia
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Profession	Journalist, businessman

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

Political career

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. Forrestall's brother is the Canadian realist painter, Tom Forrestall; their sister Katherine was the mother of singer-songwriter Matthew Grimson.

Death

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

Electoral history

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
lop.parl.ca

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	+1.83	Y
	Progressive Conservative	Michael Forrestall	40,983	22.34		Y
	Liberal	John Lloyd	39,942	21.77	-3.52
	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
	Progressive Conservative notional gain from Liberal		Swing		+4.39