Charles Murray Tatham (November 8, 1925 - February 3, 2016) was a former

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

in Ontario, Canada. He served in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

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 ...

from 1987 to 1990.

Background

Tatham is a former shareholder and vice-president of Wood-Gen Supply Ltd. He served in the Oxford Rifles Reserve from 1940 to 1943, and was a

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

officer from 1943 to 1945.

Politics

Tatham was an alderman in the city of Woodstock in 1956, served as mayor of the city from 1957 to 1958, and was an alderman again from 1979 to 1987. He ran for 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 ...

as a candidate of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

in the elections of

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, in the riding of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He was defeated on all three occasions. The closest he came to winning was in 1974, when he lost to Progressive Conservative Bruce Halliday by only 1,428 votes. Tatham was elected to the Ontario legislature for the riding of Oxford in the 1987 provincial election, defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative Dick Treleaven by 2,874 votes. He served as a backbench supporter of

David Peterson David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty. Back ...

's government for the next three years. The Liberals were defeated in the 1990 provincial election, and Tatham was reduced to a third-place finish in Oxford, losing to Kimble Sutherland of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

After politics

Tatham was chair of the Collingwood Airport Services Board. The ''Charlie Tatham Peace Park'' is named in his honour in

Woodstock, Ontario Woodstock is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The city has a population of 46,705 according to the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 Canadian census. Woodstock is the seat of Oxford County, Ontario, Oxford County, at the head of the Thames River, On ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tatham, Charlie 1925 births 2016 deaths Ontario Liberal Party MPPs People from Woodstock, Ontario People from Clearview, Ontario Politicians from Simcoe County 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario