Pat Mahoney

Pat Mahoney, born on January 20, 1929, was a multifaceted Canadian figure known for his contributions as a lawyer, politician, judge, and businessman. His political journey began when he was elected as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Calgary South in the 1968 election, a remarkable feat in a region traditionally dominated by the Progressive Conservative Party. Riding the wave of Trudeaumania, Mahoney secured his seat by defeating incumbent Harold Raymond Ballard by a narrow margin of seven hundred fifty-six votes.

In 1970, Mahoney was appointed parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Finance, a role he held until January 1972, when he was elevated to Cabinet as a minister of state by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. However, his political career faced a setback in the 1972 election, where he lost his seat to Tory rival Peter Bawden by a significant margin of over sixteen thousand votes. Reflecting on his political journey in 2011, Mahoney humorously remarked that the Liberals would elect another MP in Calgary before the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup.

Following his electoral defeat, Mahoney returned to his legal roots and was appointed to the Federal Court of Appeal, where he continued to serve the public. Beyond his legal and political endeavors, Mahoney made his mark in sports as an executive with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, joining the team in 1955. He was instrumental in moving the Labour Day Classic match against the Edmonton Eskimos to Calgary in 1959, a tradition that continues to this day.

Mahoney briefly held the position of general manager for the Stampeders in 1965 and served as president of the league's Western Football Conference. After a distinguished career, he retired to North Vancouver, British Columbia, where he passed away at the age of eighty-three on June 8, 2012. Notably, Mahoney was the last Liberal to be elected to the House of Commons from a Calgary-based riding until Kent Hehr and Darshan Kang achieved this milestone in 2015.