Bill Clarke

William Hillary Clarke (July 5, 1933 – December 26, 2025) was a Canadian chartered accountant, businessman, and politician. Clarke served as a Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada.

Life Clarke attended schools in Toronto's Forest Hill district, then studied at Ridley College at St. Catharines and St. George's School in Vancouver. His post-secondary education was at the University of British Columbia. He became a chartered accountant for Price Waterhouse's Vancouver office in 1956.

He entered national politics in the 1972 Canadian federal election, in which he ran successfully to become the Member of Parliament for the riding of Vancouver Quadra. Clarke defeated Liberal MP Grant Deachman by under 3,000 votes. Clarke was re-elected at the riding in the 1974, 1979 and 1980 federal elections. Clarke therefore served four consecutive terms, from the 29th through 32nd Canadian Parliaments.

In the 1984 federal election, Clarke lost his seat to Prime Minister John Turner, who had become leader of the Liberal Party while out of Parliament earlier that year. Clarke was defeated even as his party won the most seats in Canadian history, and he was one of only two Tory MPs to lose a re-election bid in 1984. (John A. Gamble of York North was the other; he lost to Tony Roman as his far-right political beliefs came under scrutiny.) Clarke made two further unsuccessful attempts to regain Vancouver Quadra as a PC candidate: in 1988, coming second to Turner, and 2000, coming third behind Stephen Owen.

He was the Conservative Party of British Columbia's candidate for the riding of Vancouver-Quilchena in the 2013 British Columbia general election. He came in fourth place, with BC Liberal candidate Andrew Wilkinson winning. Clarke died on December 26, 2025, at the age of 92.

Archives There is a Bill Clarke fonds at Library and Archives Canada. Archival reference number is R3730.