Jack Shields

Jack Shields
Member of Parliament
for Athabasca
In office
2 February 1980 – 24 October 1993
Preceded byPaul Yewchuk
Succeeded byDavid Chatters
Personal details
Born
John Wendele Shields

(1929-12-25)25 December 1929
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
Died29 November 2004(2004-11-29) (aged 74)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative
Military service
Allegiance Canada
Branch/serviceCanadian Army
Years of service1947–1957
RankWarrant officer
UnitPrincess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Battles/warsKorean War

John Wendele Shields (25 December 1929 – 29 November 2004) was a Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was a soldier, businessman, and teacher by career.

Born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Shields served with the Canadian Army in Korea. He left the military in 1958 to complete high school and went on to earn a degree in education from the University of Alberta.

During his time as a Member of Parliament (MP), he represented the northeast Alberta riding of Athabasca. He was elected in the 1980, 1984, and 1988 federal elections. He served in the 32nd, 33rd and 34th Canadian Parliaments.

In 1991, Shields incurred controversy for allegedly shouting "Shut up, Sambo" to New Democratic Party MP Howard McCurdy, the only black member of Parliament serving at the time.[1] Shields denied ever making the comments.

Shields left federal politics after his defeat in the 1993 federal election to David Chatters of the Reform Party; he lost over half of his vote from 1988.

He died aged 74 of heart failure following bladder surgery.

  1. ^ Global News (9 June 2009). "Words of the unwise". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2018.