{{Short description|Canadian politician (1935–2026)}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [[The Honourable]] | name = Bobbie Sparrow | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}} | image = | caption = | office = [[Minister of Natural Resources#Minister of Energy, Mines, and Resources|Minister of Energy, Mines, and Resources]] | prime_minister = [[Kim Campbell]] | term_start = June 25, 1993 | term_end = November 3, 1993 | predecessor = [[Bill McKnight]] | successor = [[Anne McLellan]] | office2 = [[Minister of Natural Resources#Minister of Forestry|Minister of Forestry]] | prime_minister2 = Kim Campbell | term_start2 = June 25, 1993 | term_end2 = November 3, 1993 | predecessor2 = [[Frank Oberle Sr.]] | successor2 = Anne McLellan | parliament9 = Canadian | riding9 = [[Calgary Southwest]]<br />{{small|([[Calgary South]]; 1984–1988)}} | term_start9 = September 4, 1984 | term_end9 = October 25, 1993 | predecessor9 = [[John William Thomson]] | successor9 = [[Preston Manning]] | birth_name = Barbara Jane O'Connor | birth_date = {{birth date|1935|7|11}} | birth_place = [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|2|19|1935|7|11}} | death_place = [[Calgary]], Alberta, Canada | profession = {{Hlist|Registered nurse|businesswoman|politician}} | party = [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]] | spouse = {{marriage|Bob Sparrow|1956|1973|end=d.}} | footnotes = }}
'''Barbara Jane Sparrow''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC}} ({{nee}} '''O'Connor'''; July 11, 1935 – February 19, 2026) was a Canadian politician.
==Political career== Sparrow, a [[Registered Nurse]] and businessperson, was first elected to the [[House of Commons of Canada]] in the [[1984 Canadian federal election|1984 federal election]] as [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] for the [[Alberta]] [[Electoral district (Canada)|riding]] of [[Calgary South]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Profile - Sparrow, Barbara Jane (Bobbie)|url=https://lop.parl.ca/sites/ParlInfo/default/en_CA/People/Profile?personId=12274|access-date=2020-06-25|website=lop.parl.ca}}</ref> That election brought the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]] to power under the leadership of [[Brian Mulroney]]. In that election she won the biggest plurality in Canadian history up to that time with 47,763 more votes than second place runner-up Harold Millican from the [[Liberal Party of Canada]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Raymaker|first=Darryl|title=Trudeau's Tango: Alberta Meets Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968–1972|publisher=University of Alberta Press|year=2017|pages=282}}</ref>
Redistribution of federal ridings by [[Elections Canada]] prior to the [[1988 Canadian federal election|1988 federal election]] abolished Sparrow's riding; in 1988, she ran and won in the new riding of [[Calgary Southwest]]. In 1991, she was named [[parliamentary secretary]] to the [[Minister of Health (Canada)|Minister of National Health and Welfare]].<ref name=":0" />
When [[Kim Campbell]] succeeded Mulroney as PC leader and [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime minister]] in 1993, she brought Sparrow into the [[Cabinet of Canada|Cabinet]] as [[Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources (Canada)|Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources]] and [[Minister of Forestry (Canada)|Minister of Forestry]].<ref name=":0" />
Both Sparrow and the Campbell government were defeated in the subsequent [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993 federal election]] that reduced the Tories to only two seats in the House of Commons. Sparrow lost her seat to [[Reform Party of Canada|Reform Party]] leader [[Preston Manning]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Campbell |first1=Murray |author-link1=Murray Campbell (columnist) |last2=Sallot |first2=Jeff |date=October 26, 1993 |title=A Liberal Landslide: All but 2 Tories lose; Bloc could become Official Opposition |url= |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |page=A1 |location=Toronto, Ontario |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Cernetig |first=Miro |date=October 26, 1993 |title=Manning's reach exceeds grasp: Reform fails to make inroads into Ontario |url= |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |page=A1 |location=Calgary, Alberta |access-date=}}</ref>
==Philanthropy== Sparrow joined the Junior League of Calgary, Canada in 1961, and was elected President of the League in 1969.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://1901.ajli.org/bobbie-sparrow-a-woman-of-many-interests/ |title=Sustainable Assets: Bobbie Sparrow: A Woman of Many Interests |date=January 24, 2012 |access-date=October 23, 2025 }}</ref> Sparrow was also a part of many Committees within the Junior League.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thejuniorleagueinternational.org/ |title=The Association of Junior League International |access-date=October 23, 2025 }}</ref> In line with her philanthropic interests were human rights ones. In response to a constituent, she supported the [[Soviet Jewry movement]] in Canada by requesting permission to “adopt” a [[Refusenik|refusenik]], and advocated directly to Soviet authorities on their behalf.<ref>[[Rena Cohen]] to Bobbie Sparrow, correspondence cited in Saundra Lipton, [https://doi.org/10.25071/1916-0925.40419 “Let My People Go: Calgary Community Support for the Free Soviet Jewry Movement,”] [[Canadian Jewish Studies]] 40 (2025), 101, 111fn.141.</ref>
==Personal life and death== Sparrow was married to her husband, Bob Sparrow, until his death in 1973.<ref name=Principled>{{Cite news |last=Gilligan |first=Melissa |date=2026-02-20 |title='A steady and principled leader': Former Calgary MP Bobbie Sparrow passes away |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/a-steady-and-principled-leader-former-calgary-mp-bobbie-sparrow-passes-away/ |access-date=2026-02-21 |work=[[CTV News]]}}</ref>
Sparrow died in Calgary on February 19, 2026, at the age of 90.<ref>{{cite web|title=Barbara "Bobbie" Jane Sparrow|url=https://www.mhfh.com/obituaries/Barbara-Bobbie-Jane-Sparrow?obId=47312435|publisher=McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes|access-date=February 24, 2026}}</ref><ref name=Principled/>
==Electoral record== {{1993 Canadian federal election/Calgary Southwest}}
{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1988|percent=yes}} {{CANelec|CA|PC|Bobbie Sparrow|40,397|65.16 }} {{CANelec|CA|Reform|Janet Jessop|8,316|13.41 }} {{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Percy Baker|7,147|11.53 }} {{CANelec|CA|NDP|Vera Vogel|5,024| 8.10}} {{CANelec|CA|Independent|[[Larry R. Heather]]|669| 1.08}} {{CANelec|CA|Rhinoceros (historical)|Johnny Barretto|372| 0.60}} {{CANelec|CA|CoR|Bill Sinclair|68| 0.11}} {{Canadian election result/total|Total valid votes|61,993|100.00}} {{end}}
{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1984}} {{CANelec|CA|PC|Bobbie Sparrow|55,590}} {{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Harold Millican|7,827}} {{CANelec|CA|NDP|Brendan Quigley|6,135}} {{CANelec|CA|CoR|Phyllis Kobley|866}} {{CANelec|XX|Independent|[[Larry Heather]]|800}} {{CANelec|CA|Commonwealth of Canada|Bill Bohdan|136}} {{end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=12274}}
{{Campbell Ministry}} {{CA-Ministers of Natural Resources}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sparrow, Bobbie}} [[Category:1935 births]] [[Category:2026 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian women politicians]] [[Category:Members of the 25th Canadian Ministry]] [[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta]] [[Category:Members of the Junior League]] [[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]] [[Category:Ministers of mining of Canada]] [[Category:Politicians from Calgary]] [[Category:Canadian federal politicians from Toronto]] [[Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs]] [[Category:Women government ministers of Canada]] [[Category:Women in Alberta politics]] [[Category:Women members of the House of Commons of Canada]] [[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]