Bonnie Laing Explained

Bonnie Laing
Birth Name:Bonnie Mary Sheila Paul
Birth Date:30 March 1937
Birth Place:Calgary, Alberta
Death Place:Bowcrest Care Centre, Calgary, Alberta
Residence:Calgary, Alberta
Office1:MLA for Calgary-Bow
Term Start1:1989
Term End1:2001
Predecessor1:Neil Webber
Successor1:Alana DeLong
Party:Progressive Conservative
Occupation:Educator, politician, health care professional
Spouse:Wyatt B. Laing

Bonnie Mary Sheila Laing (née Paul; March 30, 1937 – November 11, 2016) was a teacher, politician and health care professional from Alberta, Canada.[1]

Early life

Bonnie Laing had a career as an educator for 26 years; she left that role when she ran for public office in 1989.[2]

Political career

Laing ran for public office in the 1989 Alberta general election. She won a hotly contested three-way race that saw each candidate in the electoral district of Calgary-Bow pick up 30% of the popular vote. Laing finished first, defeating Tim Bardsley and Scott Jeffery of the Liberals and NDP.[3]

Laing won her second term in office in the 1993 Alberta general election with a much larger margin, defeating six other candidates and winning almost 47% of the popular vote. She was re-elected to her third and final term in the 1997 Alberta general election by her biggest margin, defeating four other candidates and winning 54% of the popular vote.[3]

During her time in office Laing served on the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission. She also served as the co-chair on the government's Special Task Force on Province-Wide Health Services. Laing also chaired the province's 1997 Health System Funding Review Committee.[2]

Later career and death

After leaving politics, Laing was appointed chair of the Health Utilization and Outcomes Commission. She continued to serve as vice-chair after the commission was renamed the Health Quality Council of Alberta.[2]

Laing died on November 11, 2016, at the age of 79 at the Bowcrest Care Centre in Calgary.[4]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Canadian Who's who. Lumley, E.. 2002. University of Toronto Press. 0068-9963. 2015-04-08.
  2. Web site: Alberta mandates council to focus on quality healthcare . Canadian Healthcare Technology . 2008-03-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110708114248/http://www.canhealth.com/News010.html . 2011-07-08 . dead .
  3. Web site: Calgary Bow and Calgary Bowness Official Results . Alberta Heritage . 2008-03-08 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110612155619/http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/database/maps_choice.asp?Year=19&Constit=Calgary-Bow . 2011-06-12 .
  4. Web site: Bonnie Mary Sheila Laing: Obituary. November 16, 2016. Calgary Herald. November 17, 2016.