David Berger (Canadian politician)

David Berger
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Laurier
In office
1979–1988
Preceded by Fernand-E. Leblanc
Succeeded by District was abolished in 1987
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Saint-Henri—Westmount
In office
1988–1994
Preceded by Don Johnston
Succeeded by Lucienne Robillard
Personal details
Born March 30, 1950
Ottawa, Ontario
Political party Liberal
Relations Sam Berger (father)

David Berger (born March 30, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, politician, diplomat, and sports executive.

He was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the eldest son of Sam Berger.[1] He attended Ashbury College before receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971 from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Civil Law in 1975 from McGill University. From 1975 to 1979, he was an Executive Vice-President for the Montreal Alouettes Football Club. From 1978 to 1979, he was President of the Canadian Football League.[2] He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada for the riding of Laurier in the 1979 federal election. A Liberal, he was re-elected four more times in 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1993 (in the riding of Saint-Henri—Westmount). In 1982, he was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of State (Small Businesses and Tourism). From 1982 to 1984, he was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs.[3] He resigned in 1994 after being appointed the Canadian ambassador to Israel and was at the same time High Commissioner of Canada to Cyprus.[4][5] Berger served until 1999 and was replaced by Michael Dougall Bell. He backed Stéphane Dion at the 2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership convention.[6]

Electoral Record (partial)

Canadian federal election, 1993: Saint-Henri—Westmount
Party Candidate Votes%Expenditures
LiberalDavid Berger 25,940 61.72 $46,505
  Bloc Québécois Eugenia Romain 7,950 18.92 $10,686
  Progressive Conservative Alain Perez 4,507 10.72 $43,910
  New Democratic Party Ann Elbourne 1,662 3.95 $2,453
  National Louise Pilon 581 1.38 $1,697
  Natural Law Allan Faguy 558 1.33 $20,006
  Non-Affiliated Mark E.A. Roper 259 0.62 $1,672
  Commonwealth Normand Bélanger 131 0.31 $0
  Christian Heritage Robert Adams 125 0.30 $38
  Independent Rudolph Scalzo 122 0.29 $1,282
Marxist–LeninistArnold August 114 0.27 $80
  Abolitionist Robert Carlisle 80 0.19 $0
Total valid votes 42,029 100.00
Total rejected ballots 867
Turnout 42,896 74.61
Electors on the lists 57,491
Source: Thirty-fifth General Election, 1993: Official Voting Results, Published by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Financial figures taken from official contributions and expenses provided by Elections Canada.
Canadian federal election, 1984: Laurier
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalDavid Berger 9,302 34.58
     Progressive Conservative Roland Gagné 7,720 28.70
     New Democratic Party Jean-Pierre Juneau 4,595 17.08
RhinocerosFrançois Yo Gourd 3,247 12.07
     Parti nationaliste Jean Saint-Amour 906 3.37
GreenRobert Silverman 751 2.79
     Social Credit Gilles Côté 194 0.72
     Communist Brian O'Keefe 130 0.48
     Commonwealth Jean Langevin 53 0.20
Total valid votes 26,898 100.00
Total rejected ballots 460
Turnout 27,358 67.89
Electors on the lists 40,299
Source: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Thirty-third General Election, 1984.

References

  1. ↑ Bacon, Dick (1 December 1976). "Sam Berger will retire soon, turn Alouettes over to his sons". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  2. ↑ Canadian Who's Who 1997 entry
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ David Berger: Heads of Post List
  5. ↑ Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada Complete List of Posts
  6. ↑ Dion has walked a fine line on Mideast
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Norman Spector		 Canadian Ambassador to Israel
1995–1999 		Succeeded by
Michael Dougall Bell