# Clarence Copithorne
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{{short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image =
| image_size =
| name = Clarence Copithorne
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1920|11|12}}
| birth_place = [Cochrane, Alberta](/source/Cochrane%2C_Alberta)[{{cite journal|title=Guide parlementaire canadien|author1=Normandin, P.G.|author2=Normandin, A.L.|journal=The Canadian Parliamentary Guide = Guide Parlementaire Canadien|date=1974|publisher=P.G. Normandin|issn=0315-6168|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kP7vAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=November 17, 2014}}]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1979|6|4|1920|11|12}}
| death_place = [Cochrane, Alberta](/source/Cochrane%2C_Alberta)[[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~abwcobit/Data/Papers/1979C/CalgaryObits1979Page22.html]{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}]
| office = [Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta](/source/Member_of_the_Legislative_Assembly)
| constituency = [Banff-Cochrane](/source/Banff-Cochrane)
| term_start = 1967
| term_end = 1975
| predecessor = [Frank Gainer](/source/Frank_Gainer)
| successor = [Frederick Kidd](/source/Frederick_Kidd)
| office1 = [Minister of Highways and Transport](/source/List_of_Alberta_provincial_ministers)
| term_start1 = September 10, 1971
| term_end1 = March 1975
| predecessor1 = [Gordon Taylor](/source/Gordon_Taylor_(politician))
| successor1 = [Hugh Horner](/source/Hugh_Horner)
| party = [Progressive Conservative](/source/Progressive_Conservative_Association_of_Alberta)
| occupation =
}}
'''Clarence Copithorne''' (November 12, 1920 – June 4, 1979) was a provincial level politician from [Alberta](/source/Alberta), Canada. He served as a member of the [Legislative Assembly of Alberta](/source/Legislative_Assembly_of_Alberta) from 1967 to 1975 sitting as an Independent and later with the Progressive Conservative caucus in both opposition and government. During his time in office he served as a cabinet minister in the government of [Peter Lougheed](/source/Peter_Lougheed) from 1971 to 1975.
==Political career==
Copithorne ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the [1967 Alberta general election](/source/1967_Alberta_general_election). He ran in the electoral district of [Banff-Cochrane](/source/Banff-Cochrane) as an independent candidate and won defeating two other candidates in a hotly contested race, including future MLA [Roy Wilson](/source/Roy_Wilson_(Canadian_politician)).[{{cite web|url=http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1967&Constit=Banff-Cochrane | title=Banff-Cochrane results 1967| publisher=Alberta Heritage Community Foundation | accessdate=December 9, 2009}}]
On March 27, 1969, Copithorne entered a [hamburger](/source/hamburger) into the official record of a debate, to protest the quality of the food in the legislature's cafeteria. The hamburger remains in the legislative library.[{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-edition-1.3896872/how-a-decades-old-burger-became-a-fixture-in-the-alberta-legislature-1.3896885 | title=How a decades-old burger became a fixture in the Alberta legislature | publisher=CBC | accessdate=July 27, 2023}}]
On April 15, 1970 Copithorne joined the Progressive Conservative caucus giving up his independent status. He ran for re-election in the [1971 Alberta general election](/source/1971_Alberta_general_election) as a Progressive Conservative candidate. He increased his popular vote and held the district defeating two other candidates.[{{cite web|url=http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1971&Constit=Banff-Cochrane | title=Banff-Cochrane results 1971| publisher=Alberta Heritage Community Foundation | accessdate=December 9, 2009}}] His win would help the Progressive Conservatives form government that year.
After the election Premier [Peter Lougheed](/source/Peter_Lougheed) rewarded Copithorne by appointing him to the [Executive Council of Alberta](/source/Executive_Council_of_Alberta) to serve as the Minister of Highways and Transport.
Copithorne helped develop a plan to create [Kananaskis Country](/source/Kananaskis_Country) in his district.[{{cite web|title=Dedication commemorates ongoing legacy of Kananaskis Country|date=September 22, 2008|publisher=Government of Alberta|url=http://alberta.ca/home/NewsFrame.cfm?ReleaseID=/acn/200809/243928ABEAD78-AB61-A3F5-9C32DA4B34E64547.html|accessdate=December 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716155951/http://alberta.ca/home/NewsFrame.cfm?ReleaseID=%2Facn%2F200809%2F243928ABEAD78-AB61-A3F5-9C32DA4B34E64547.html|archive-date=July 16, 2011|url-status=dead}}]
He retired from the Alberta Legislature and his cabinet position at dissolution in 1975.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930024650/http://www.assembly.ab.ca/legislaturecentennial/pdf/membersBooklet.pdf Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Copithorne, Clarence}}
Category:Independent Alberta MLAs
Category:Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs
Category:1920 births
Category:1979 deaths
Category:People from Cochrane, Alberta
Category:Members of the Executive Council of Alberta
Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Clarence Copithorne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Copithorne) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Copithorne?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.