Andrew Thompson
|
|
Andrew Thompson (b. 1924) is a Canadian politician. Thompson was a member of the Ontario legislature representing the Ontario Liberal Party. He was elected leader of the party in 1964, defeating Charles Templeton on the sixth ballot.
As a result of his involvement in an automobile accident in which two elderly women were seriously injured, Thompson resigned as leader in early 1967 without ever having led his party in an election. Thompson was replaced as Liberal leader by Robert Nixon, and was named to the Canadian Senate.
Thompson's time in the Senate was relatively uneventful and he kept a low profile. So low, in fact, that his attendance in the Senate was the worst of any Senator in the 1990s. Thompson attended only 12 times in seven years. Thompson claimed he was unable to attend Senate sessions due to illness, but continued to draw his salary. When it was discovered that he was, in fact, living in Mexico, the Reform Party made Thompson's absence a cause celebre. Reform MPs hired a Mariachi band and served burritos in the halls of Parliament to draw attention to the issue. Thompson was held up as an example of why the Senate needed to be reformed.
The resulting furor resulted in Thompson being expelled from the Liberal caucus on November 19, 1997, and ultimately being forced to resign on March 23, 1998, 20 months ahead of his scheduled retirement.
|
Preceded by: | Ontario Liberal leaders |
Succeeded by: |