William Irvine Estabrooks (July 26, 1947 – June 4, 2024) was a Canadian educator and 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 ...

. A native of

Sackville, New Brunswick Sackville is a former town in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. It held town status prior to 2023 and is now part of the town of Tantramar, New Brunswick, Tantramar. Sackville is home to Mount Allison University, a primarily undergraduate libe ...

, Estabrooks attended

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

from which he graduated in 1969. Estabrooks found employment as a teacher in the communities around

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, residing in the suburban community of

Upper Tantallon Upper Tantallon (pronounced 'tan-TAL-en') is a suburban community that extends from the Hammonds Plains Road ( Route 213) to the crossroads of Trunk 3 and Route 333 within the Halifax Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia Canada, west from Downto ...

. Estabrooks taught at various schools in Halifax including Sir John A. Macdonald High, Sackville High and Brookside Junior High. He was involved in local chapters of the

Lions Club Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo clubs, Leo) in more than 200 ge ...

as well as volunteering with local

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

teams. He was also a recipient of the Lions International Presidents' Recognition Award and the Medal of Bravery from the

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

. In 2015, the Hubley Community Centre was named the ''Estabrooks Community Hall'' in Bill Estabrooks' honour for his years of dedication to the community.

Political career

Estabrooks ran for the nomination of the

Nova Scotia New Democratic Party The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party (Nova Scotia NDP) is a social democratic political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the provincial section for the province of the federal New Democratic Party. It was founded as the Co-operative Commonwe ...

in the riding of

Timberlea-Prospect Timberlea—Prospect is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Its Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) since 2013 has been Iain Rankin of the Nova Scotia Liberal Pa ...

in 1998. He was elected in the 1998 Nova Scotia election and was subsequently re-elected in the

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and 2009 provincial elections. Estabrooks was appointed to the

Executive Council of Nova Scotia The Executive Council of Nova Scotia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Nova Scotia) is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Almost always made up of members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the cabinet is s ...

in June 2009 where he served as Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal and Minister of Energy until his resignation from cabinet in May 2012.

Later life and death

On September 10, 2010, Estabrooks announced that he had been diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

in November 2008. He continued to serve in cabinet until his resignation on May 30, 2012. Estabrooks also announced his decision to not seek re-election in the next provincial election due to his health concerns. Estabrooks later moved to

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

around 2019 to be closer to his family, where he resided in a care home. He died there on June 4, 2024, at age 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estabrooks, Bill 1947 births 2024 deaths Nova Scotia New Democratic Party MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia People from Sackville, New Brunswick Mount Allison University alumni 21st-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly Canadian schoolteachers People with Parkinson's disease 20th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly