Tony Whitford
{{Short description|Canadian politician (1941–2024)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Tony Whitford
| honorific_suffix = ONWT
| image = Tony Whitford (cropped).jpg
| caption = Whitford in 2006
| office = Commissioner of the Northwest Territories
| term_start = April 29, 2005
| term_end = May 28, 2010
| predecessor = Glenna Hansen
| successor = George Tuccaro
| primeminister = Paul Martin
Stephen Harper
| premier = Joe Handley
Floyd Roland
| office2 = Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories for Yellowknife South
| term_start2 = October 31, 1988
| term_end2 = October 16, 1995
| predecessor2 = Ted Richard
| successor2 = Seamus Henry
| office3 = Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories for Kam Lake
| term_start3 = December 6, 1999
| term_end3 = November 24, 2003
| predecessor3 = first member
| successor3 = Dave Ramsay
| birthname = Anthony Wilfred James Whitford
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1941|6|11}}
| birth_place = Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|9|16|1941|6|11}}
| death_place = Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
| spouse = {{marriage|Mary Elaine Sweet|1966}}
| children = Warren, Blair, and Ian
| alma_mater = University of Calgary
}}
Anthony Wilfred James Whitford {{post-nominals|ONWT}} (June 11, 1941 – September 16, 2024) was a Canadian politician, who served as the commissioner of the Northwest Territories from 2005 to 2010.
Whitford entered the political arena in 1988 and retired in 2010 after 22 years of civil service. In June 2010, Whitford was appointed an Honorary Naval Captain of the Royal Canadian Navy.{{cite web|title=Honorary Naval Captain of the Canadian Navy|work=National Defence and the Canadian Forces|publisher=2010 News Releases|date=2010-06-25|url=http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/news-nouvelles-eng.asp?cat=02&id=3444|accessdate=2010-12-24|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905040618/http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/news-nouvelles-eng.asp?cat=02&id=3444|archivedate=2012-09-05}}
Early life and career
Whitford was born on June 11, 1941,[https://books.google.com/books?id=Q_iIAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Whitford,+Hon.+Tony%22+1941 The Canadian Parliamentary Guide] 1999[https://books.google.com/books?id=qHeJAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Whitford%2C+Tony+%22+ The Canadian Parliamentary Guide] 1995 and raised in the Northwest Territories, in the small town of Fort Smith, at the time the capital of the NWT.
As a young man, he worked for Northern Transportation Company (NTCL) on the boats sailing the Mackenzie River and for Northern Canada Power Commission (NCPC) in Fort Smith and Taltson River. Whitford and family moved to Calgary in 1973 where he attended the University of Calgary. He moved to Yellowknife in 1977 and began a career with the Territorial and Federal governments.
Political career
Whitford was first elected to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly in 1988 to replace Ted Richard who had been appointed to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. In the 1991 election he was elected to the 12th NWT Assembly representing Yellowknife South.
While not elected in the 1995 election, he was elected, with over 80% of the vote, to the Kam Lake electoral district in the 1999 election sitting in the 24th NWT Assembly. On January 19, 2000, he was appointed Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, replacing Samuel Gargan, a position he was to hold until December 11, 2003.
In October 2004, he became Deputy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories and was appointed Commissioner of the Northwest Territories on April 29, 2005.{{cite web|title=Backgrounder Biography of Anthony W.J. (Tony) Whitford - NWT Commissioner|work=Indian and Northern Affairs Canada|publisher=2005 News Releases|date=2008-10-28|url=http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/mr/nr/j-a2005/02623bk-eng.asp|accessdate=2009-10-06|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613194048/http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/mr/nr/j-a2005/02623bk-eng.asp|archivedate=2011-06-13}}
Whitford completed his term as Commissioner in April 2010 and served as an Honorary Naval Captain of the Canadian Navy. He maintained a busy schedule with frequent travel to the communities of the Northwest Territories as well as tending to obligations in southern Canada and overseas.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} Whitford was made a Knight of the Order of St. John in 2010{{Cite web|url=https://nnsl-archive.blackpress.ca/nnsl/2010-05/may21_10kn.html |title=Yellowknife knights |author=Tim Edwards |website=Northern News Services |lang=en |date=2010-05-21 |access-date=2025-01-26}} and a Member of the Order of the Northwest Territories (ONWT) in 2016.{{cite web |title=Order of The Northwest Territories |url=https://www.ntlegislativeassembly.ca/visit-learn/programs/order-nwt |website=Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories |access-date=18 September 2024}}{{cite web |title=Order of the NWT Summary of 2016 Nominations |url=https://www.ntlegislativeassembly.ca/sites/default/files/legacy/images/order_of_the_nwt_-_2016_nominees_final.pdf |website=Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories |access-date=18 September 2024}}
Personal life and death
Whitford married Mary Elaine Whitford (née Sweet) on November 9, 1966. The couple had three children, sons Warren (born June 19, 1968), Blair (born March 6, 1970), and Ian (born March 12, 1971). Elaine died of breast cancer on February 23, 2003. He attended the University of Calgary and earned a Bachelor of Social Work in 1977.
Whitford lived in Yellowknife and was often found at the local Tim Hortons enjoying a coffee and discussing politics with the locals. His hobbies included wood working from which he crafted bird houses.
Whitford died at a hospital in Yellowknife, on September 16, 2024, at the age of 83.{{cite web|title=Well-known N.W.T. politician Tony Whitford dies|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-politician-tony-whitford-dies-1.7324600|date=September 16, 2024|publisher=CBC News|access-date=September 16, 2024}}{{cite news |title=Former commissioner and MLA Tony Whitford dies at 83 |url=https://www.nnsl.com/home/former-commissioner-and-mla-tony-whitford-dies-at-83-7537837 |access-date=17 September 2024 |publisher=NNSL |date=16 September 2024}}
Arms
{{Infobox COA wide
|escutcheon = Gules a bend wavy between in chief a black spruce tree and in base a mountain avens flower Argent on a chief Azure three billets wavy fesswise Argent.
|crest = Issuant from a coronet erablé Gules a whooping crane Proper.
|motto = Perseverance Commitment Service
|notes = Granted 15 June 2006.{{cite web|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/1044 |publisher=Canadian Heraldic Authority |accessdate=12 October 2023 |title=Anthony Wilfred James Whitford}}
|supporters = Two bison guardant Proper each charged on the flank with an open book surmounting two wrenches in saltire and supporting a mace Argent standing on a grassy mound Vert set with wild roses leaved Argent.}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110613194048/http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/mr/nr/j-a2005/02623bk-eng.asp Biography], ainc-inac.gc.ca; accessed June 14, 2017.
{{Northwest Territories Heads of State}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitford, Tony}}
Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
Category:Northwest Territories Deputy Commissioners
Category:Commissioners of the Northwest Territories
Category:Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
Category:People from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories
Category:Knights of the Order of St John
Category:Members of the Order of the Northwest Territories
Category:Canadian Métis people
Category:University of Calgary alumni
Category:Politicians from Yellowknife
Category:21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories