William D. Casey (born February 19, 1945) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

. First elected as a Progressive Conservative in 1988, he later sat as

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP following the party merger in 2003. In 2007, Casey was expelled from the party for voting against the 2007 budget, but he was reelected as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

in the 2008 election and sat as such until he resigned his seat in 2009 to work on behalf of the Nova Scotian government for provincial interests in Ottawa. Casey decided to return to federal politics in the 2015 federal election and running as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

easily took the seat with 63.73% of the popular vote.

Life and career

Casey was born in

Amherst, Nova Scotia Amherst ( ) is a town in northwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, located at the northeast end of the Cumberland Basin (Canada), Cumberland Basin, an arm of the Bay of Fundy, and south of the Northumberland Strait. The town sits on a height of land a ...

. He was a car salesman and stockbroker before going into politics. He was first elected, as a member of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; ) was a Centrism, centre to centre-right List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 unti ...

, to represent the riding of

Cumberland—Colchester Cumberland—Colchester (formerly Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley and North Nova) is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Cumberland—Colche ...

in the 1988 election. In common with almost every other PC Member of Parliament (MP) in the 1993 election he lost his seat, in his case being defeated by

candidate Dianne Brushett. In the 1997 election, he retook the seat, defeating Brushett, and represented it until April 30, 2009. In 2003, the PCs merged into the new Conservative Party. He was the deputy whip of the Official Opposition from 2004 until the 2006 election, and had served as the Conservative critic of Transport, International Trade, National Revenue, and Foreign Affairs in the past. When the Conservatives' 2007 budget was released, Casey praised it, saying: "I have never seen a budget that has had more in it for the people of my riding than this one does." However, on June 5, 2007, he voted against it, claiming that it broke the

Atlantic Accord Atlantic Accord may refer to * Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord * Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord {{Disambiguation ...

with his province and

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

. He was expelled from the Conservative caucus, and sat as an Independent MP. During the rest of the 39th Parliament, he styled himself as an Independent Progressive Conservative. In October 2007, the Conservative Party

riding association An electoral district association (), commonly known as a riding association () or constituency association, is the basic unit of a political party at the level of the electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) distr ...

in Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley renominated Casey as its candidate for the 2008 election. The party's head office refused to accept Casey's nomination, and suspended the association's board. On January 31, 2008, Casey underwent surgery for prostate cancer. His surgery was a success and all the cancer was removed. Casey previously had to have a cancerous growth removed from his back. On September 4, the

Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada () is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics. The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It elected its first member of ...

declared its support for his candidacy and announced that they would not field a candidate against him in the 2008 election. On October 14, 2008, Casey was re-elected as an independent by winning 69% of the popular vote. His nearest opponent was Karen Olsen of the New Democrats with just 12% of the vote. During the 2008 Canadian parliamentary dispute, Casey announced he would vote against Harper in a motion of non-confidence. He announced in January 2009 that he would not run for re-election in the next federal election However, on April 28, 2009,

Rodney MacDonald Rodney Joseph MacDonald (born January 2, 1972) is a Canadian politician, educator and musician who served as the 26th premier of Nova Scotia from 2006 to 2009 and as MLA for the riding of Inverness (provincial electoral district), Inverness in ...

, the

Premier of Nova Scotia The premier of Nova Scotia is the first minister to the lieutenant governor of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and presides over the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. Following the Westminster system, the premier is normally the leader of t ...

, announced that Casey would be the senior representative for the Department of Intergovernmental Affairs in Ottawa for the province, replacing Ian Thompson. Casey officially resigned his seat on April 30. On November 18, 2014, Casey announced he was running for the

nomination in his former riding for the 2015 federal election and won the nomination vote on February 28, 2015. On October 19, 2015, Casey won the election, defeating Conservative incumbent Scott Armstrong. In September 2018, Casey announced that he would not run in the 2019 election. In July 2021, Casey announced he would run in the next Nova Scotia general election as a candidate for the

Nova Scotia Liberal Party The Nova Scotia Liberal Party (officially the Liberal Association of Nova Scotia) is a Centrist politics, centrist provincial political party in Nova Scotia, Canada and the provincial section of the Liberal Party of Canada. The party currently hol ...

Cumberland North Cumberland North is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Prior to 1993, it was part of Cumberland East. The communities of Amherst and Pugwash are within its boun ...

. The incumbent was former PC MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, who ran as an independent. Casey was unsuccessful losing to Smith-McCrossin.

Personal life

Casey was diagnosed with

malignant melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

in 2006 and underwent two surgeries to have the cancerous mole removed. He battled

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

and underwent surgery in early February 2008.

Electoral record

References

External links

Bill Casey
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casey, Bill 1945 births Conservative Party of Canada MPs Independent candidates in the 2008 Canadian federal election Independent Conservative MPs in the Canadian House of Commons Independent MPs in the Canadian House of Commons Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia People from Amherst, Nova Scotia People from Cumberland County, Nova Scotia Politicians affected by a party expulsion process Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada