Mervyn Arthur Hardie

Mervyn Arthur Hardie (July 31, 1918 – October 18, 1961) was a politician, businessman and bush pilot from Northwest Territories, Canada. He served as a Member of the Northwest Territories Council from 1951 to 1953 and as a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons from 1953 until his death in 1961.

Hardie was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. He attended post secondary education at Notre Dame College. After finishing college he moved to the Northwest Territories and managed A.S. Hodgson's trading post in Yellowknife during 1948/1949. Hardie got his start in politics by serving on Yellowknife municipal council from 1948 to 1950.

Hardie was elected to the Council of the Northwest Territories in the 1951 Northwest Territories general election as part of the first three elected members returned since 1905. He served the Mackenzie North constituency for three years until he vacated it to run for federal politics.

In the 1953 Canadian federal election he ran in the new Mackenzie River federal electoral district as the candidate of the Liberal Party of Canada. Hardie won that election in a close three way race taking just over half the popular vote. His win made him the first Member of Parliament from the Northwest Territories since 1904. He served as a back bench member of the governing Liberal caucus.

Hardie ran for his second term in office in the 1957 Canadian federal election. He rolled up a very large majority over his Progressive Conservative opponent Harold Parkes. The Progressive Conservatives formed a minority government and Hardie became a very strong member of the official opposition becoming a frequent thorn in the side of the Diefenbaker government.

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