{{Short description|Canadian politician (born 1963)}} {{for|British Lieutenant-Colonel|Blair Stewart-Wilson}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Blair Wilson | honorific_suffix = | image = Blairmania 2006.jpg | riding = West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country | parliament = Canadian | term_start = January 23, 2006 | term_end = October 14, 2008 | predecessor = John Reynolds | successor = John Weston | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|5|18}} | birth_place = North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | death_date = | death_place = | profession = Accountant | party = Green (since 2008)<ref>{{cite web|title=Member of Parliament Profile (Historical)|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=78375&SubSubject=1002&Language=E|access-date=May 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017073951/http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=78375&SubSubject=1002&Language=E|archive-date=October 17, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> | other_party = Liberal (2006–2007)<br /> Liberal without caucus (2007–2008)<br />Independent (2008–2008) | spouse = Kelly Wilson | footnotes = }}
'''Blair Wilson''' (born May 18, 1963) is a Canadian politician and formerly the member of Parliament (MP) in the 39th Canadian parliament for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country electoral district. He was elected on January 23, 2006, in the 2006 federal election as the Liberal candidate. Shortly before the 2008 election was called, Wilson changed his allegiance to the Green Party of Canada, becoming that party's first MP<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/4545--liberal-mp-blair-wilson-goes-green-giving-the-party-its-first-seat-on-parliament-hill |title=Liberal MP Blair Wilson Goes Green, Giving the Party Its First Seat on Parliament Hill - CityNews |accessdate=April 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629145949/http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/4545--liberal-mp-blair-wilson-goes-green-giving-the-party-its-first-seat-on-parliament-hill |archivedate=June 29, 2011 }}</ref> following a period as an independent although an election was called before the House could sit. He subsequently lost the election to Conservative John Weston.
Wilson is a chartered accountant and lives in Kelowna. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Victoria.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/eppp-archive/100/205/300/liberal-ef/06-10-26/www.liberal.ca/members_e.aspx@id=13042|title=Liberal.ca :: Members of Parliament :: Blair Wilson}}</ref>
In the 2006 election, Wilson narrowly defeated John Weston, the Conservative Party candidate. Weston lost by 1.5%, or 976 votes.
Wilson became involved in politics as the organizer for "The 2010 Rally on Robson" in support of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver during the City of Vancouver's plebiscite. He stood for Parliament in the 2004 federal election, narrowly losing to John Reynolds by 1687 votes in what has long been considered one of the more right-leaning seats in the Vancouver area. At one point, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation had even declared Wilson the winner. However, when some of the more rural results came in, Reynolds was the winner.
== Controversy == On October 28, 2007, ''The Province'' newspaper alleged that Wilson's victory was aided by unlawful, off-the-books cash spending. In December 2007, the Liberal Party announced that Wilson would not be permitted to run under the Liberal Party banner following an investigation (unrelated to the investigation being conducted by Elections Canada) into Wilson's omissions of a number of legal and financial troubles during three nomination vetting processes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=f7e84f8f-2a47-43b9-abc1-0034bcec288f |title=Embattled MP to speak<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=August 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923171147/http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=f7e84f8f-2a47-43b9-abc1-0034bcec288f |archive-date=September 23, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.thestar.com/news/2007/12/23/liberal_party_bars_bc_mp_from_nomination.html | work=The Star | location=Toronto | title=Liberal party bars B.C. MP from nomination | first=Camille | last=Bains | date=December 23, 2007 | accessdate=April 26, 2010}}</ref>
Bill Lougheed, Wilson's father-in-law (who is a defendant in a lawsuit in which Wilson's wife is a plaintiff <ref name="province2">{{cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id%3D516b0447-e6c6-42f7-89d6-c2ac3be1c044 |title=Liberal party awaits probe after MP leaves caucus |accessdate=September 12, 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105025631/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=516b0447-e6c6-42f7-89d6-c2ac3be1c044 |archivedate=November 5, 2012 }}</ref>), made several unproven allegations in the October 28, 2007, edition of ''The Province'',<ref name="Province1">[http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=7f221cb3-cc92-445c-9b93-9bd333569087 West Vancouver-Sunshine coast MP has unpaid debts, unproven allegations of improper campaign spending<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030045940/http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=7f221cb3-cc92-445c-9b93-9bd333569087 |date=October 30, 2007 }}</ref> a Vancouver-based newspaper. ''The Province''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s article alleged that Wilson and his wife were subject to Social Services Tax Act liens on three properties<ref name="Province1" /> and owe $2.1 million in bank mortgages,<ref name="Province1" /> that Wilson misled the media about the true extent of his business success,<ref name="Province1" /> exaggerating the number of restaurants he founded<ref name="Province1" /> and claiming to have sold an accountancy business his in-laws claim closed,<ref name="Province1" /> among other discrepancies, and that when Wilson's two restaurants, Mahoneys and Wilson's Steakhouse, closed, he was taken twice to the BC Employment Standards Tribunal for refusing to pay employees,<ref name="Province1" /> was sued twice for failing to pay contractors,<ref name="Province1" /> and was twice compelled by the courts to pay GST owing.<ref name="Province1" /> None of the allegations was ever proven, and Blair denies all of the claims and commenced legal action against the anonymous tipster who made the campaign spending allegations after an Elections Canada probe found the allegations to be false. Wilson was also taken to court by a supplier over $33,839 that was owed (this amount was later paid).<ref name="Province1" />
On October 28, 2007, Wilson resigned from the Liberal Party caucus amid these allegations but retained his seat in the House of Commons as an independent.<ref>{{cite news | title=Vancouver MP quits Liberal caucus over election spending allegations | accessdate=May 29, 2015 | url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-mp-quits-liberal-caucus-over-election-spending-allegations-1.671713 | publisher=CBC News | date=October 29, 2007 }}</ref>
On July 21, 2008, Elections Canada cleared Wilson of 21 of the 24 allegations raised by ''The Province''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s investigation.<ref>[http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7042e8c1-4b78-40ca-aa72-5374245c7fce Former Liberal MP Blair Wilson cleared of any 'serious financial wrongdoing'<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716235459/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7042e8c1-4b78-40ca-aa72-5374245c7fce |date=July 16, 2011 }}</ref> Wilson requested readmittance to the Liberal caucus in July 2008<ref>{{cite web|url=http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080719.wwilson0719/front/Front/Front/|title=B.C. MP wants back into Liberal Party|work=The Globe and Mail|date=July 19, 2008|accessdate=May 29, 2015}}</ref> but was not allowed to rejoin the party. It was announced on August 30, 2008, that he had joined the Green Party as that party's first Member of Parliament,<ref>{{cite news | title=Green Party to announce its first member of Parliament | accessdate=August 30, 2008 | url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080830.wgreenparty30/BNStory/National/home | newspaper=The Globe and Mail | date=August 30, 2008 }}</ref> although Parliament was dissolved before he could sit as a Green Party MP. He unsuccessfully ran for re-election in the Green Party.
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=8248}}
{{GPC}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Blair}} Category:1963 births Category:Green Party of Canada MPs Category:Living people Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Category:Members of the United Church of Canada Category:People from North Vancouver Category:Politicians from West Vancouver Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs Category:Independent MPs in the Canadian House of Commons Category:21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada