Obituary: Former PM Mulroney remembers Tory MP Bud Bradley as ‘valued adviser’
If things had worked out differently for Dr. Bud Bradley in the 1988 election, he might have been a cabinet minister in the Brian Mulroney government.
The Haldimand-Norfolk Progressive Conservative MP says he was assured of being named to cabinet if he'd won, but he lost to Liberal candidate Bob Speller.
Bradley - who died March 18 at age 83 - had been parliamentary assistant to the minister of supply and services (1984-1986) and PA to the minister of national defence (1986-1988). First elected in 1979, he served as critic of Canada Post and critic for social development and status of women.
The 1988 vote revolved around free trade with the U.S. Bradley lost by 209 votes to Speller (who died in December at age 65). Bradley won the 1979 election by a 6,600 vote margin.
I was pretty much assured of cabinet this time and that's something I would have enjoyed," he told The Spectator the night of the November 1988 election. A month later, he said, I had a lot at stake and I was really hoping I was going to take it ... It's not so much I lost. It's that I was standing right at the cabinet door."
His MP work put him at death's door. In October 1987, he had an emergency three-and-a-half-hour operation in Hamilton to repair a bleeding ulcer. Doctors removed half of his stomach. He was known for putting in 15-hour days. Bradley told The Spec after the surgery, That was a real scare, a real eye opener."
Mulroney remembers Bradley being a valued adviser" on military and health-care matters. Bradley had served 18 years in the Canadian military before he set up his dental practice. He served on town council from 1976 to 1978.
Bud was an exceptional member of Parliament and a loyal friend of mine," the former prime minister told The Spectator.
He was a superb local member of Parliament. He made a major contribution to his constituency, but also to Canada. I very much valued his friendship. We had a great relationship. We're all very saddened by his loss."
Haldimand County Ward 6 councillor, and former Dunnville mayor, Bernie Corbett, fondly recalled his dealings with Bradley.
I had many opportunities in the political field to engage Bud for the betterment of our community," he said on social media. He was always there to help give guidance and nurture political newbies."
Thomas Bradley was born April 30, 1938, in Niagara Falls to Art and Mae Bradley. His father gave him the nickname Bud.
The family moved to Dunnville when Bradley was four. His father was in the RCAF and he spent time in Montreal and Alberta. Bradley attended the University of Alberta but joined the Canadian Army and served 1957-1964 with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in B.C. He studied to become a dentist and served with the Royal Canadian Dental Corps from1964-1975. He worked at Camp Borden before he returned to Dunnville.
Bradley was one of seven candidates who sought the PC nomination for Haldimand-Norfolk in April 1978. Bradley was in the lead after the first vote and won the nomination on the fourth ballot at a meeting in Port Dover.
One of the issues Bradley had to deal with in Parliament was whether to support the restoration of capital punishment. The Mulroney government allowed a free vote in 1987 and Bradley said he supported reinstatement. He worried, however, an innocent man might be sentenced to death and voted against it.
It was the toughest decision I've ever made in my life and probably the toughest decision I will ever have to make," he told The Toronto Star after the June 30, 1987 vote.
Bradley remained active in the PC party - and its successors, the Canadian Alliance and Conservative party - after he left Ottawa. He chaired a citizen group that raised money for Dunnville's new arena. He received a Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for his community work in 2012.
Bradley is survived by his wife Susan, children Michael, Sandra, Tracey, Nicole and Drew, 12 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by first wife Jeanine Bradley in 2020 and infant son James in 1985.
Daniel Nolan can be reached at dannolanwrites@gmail.com.