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'''Robert Lorne Stanfield''' ([[April 11]], [[1914]]-[[December 16]], [[2003]]) was Premier of [[Nova Scotia]] and leader of the federal [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]]. He is sometimes referred to as "the greatest prime minister Canada never had", and as one of Canada's most distinguished and respected statesmen he was one of only six people ever granted the style "[[Right Honourable]]" who were not so entitled by virtue of an office held.

<div style="float:left; width:200px; margin:0 1em 1em 0; text-align:center;">[[Image:robtanfield.jpg]]</div>

Stanfield was born to wealthy parents in [[Truro, Nova Scotia]], of [[Stanfields]] underwear fame.  Throughout his life he had enough money not to have to work for a living.  He attended [[Dalhousie University]] and [[Harvard]].  During his student days he became a strong [[socialist]]. Although this affiliation faded, he remained very much a [[Red Tory]].

After playing a role managing [[victory bonds]] during the [[Second World War]], Stanfield entered Nova Scotia politics.  The [[Conservative Party of Nova Scotia]] was in poor shape. The Liberals dominated the province, and the Conservatives did not have a single seat in the legislature.  In [[1948]] Stanfield was elected leader of the party, and quickly began to revive it.

Stanfield had married [[Joyce Frazee]] in [[1940]], but she was killed in a car accident in [[1954]], the same year he led the party to its first electoral victory in years. 

Stanfield served as premier of Nova Scotia, ruling as a moderate with a demonstrable social conscience.  He won re-election numerous times with the help of the so-called [[Nova Scotia Mafia]], a group of political advisors led by [[Dalton Camp]] and [[Flora MacDonald]].

During his term as premier, Stanfield remarried, exchanging vows with [[Mary Hall]] in [[1957]]. 

In [[1967]] the [[Progressive Conservative Party|federal Progressive Conservatives]] were racked by disunity between pro- and anti-[[Diefenbaker]] factions.  Stanfield entered the race, and with the help of his Nova Scotian advisors he won a hard-fought battle on the fifth ballot. 

In the federal election of [[1968]] a controversial photo of Stanfield fumbling a football catch at a political event became one of the defining images of his career, contrasting badly against the more vibrant and youthful image presented by [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] leader [[Pierre Trudeau]]. To this day Canadian political commentators still point to this incident as one of Canada's foremost examples of "image politics", because this one photo was chosen for the front pages of newspapers across Canada even though many other photos of Stanfield catching the same football were also available.

Stanfield served as leader of the PCs and of Her Majesty's loyal opposition until [[1976]]. He became reknowned as a gentlemanly and civil man, but after a string of election defeats this turned into a reputation for being unable to go for the jugular.  He resigned and was succeeded by [[Joe Clark]] in [[1976]].

Mary Stanfield passed away of cancer in [[1977]], and the following year Stanfield married his third wife, Anne Austin.

After his retirement Stanfield stayed out of politics until the constitutional debates during [[Brian Mulroney]]'s term as prime minister.  Stanfield endorsed and campaigned for the [[Meech Lake Accord]] and the [[Charlottetown Accord]], and both of these were supported in Nova Scotia, but they failed elsewhere.

In [[2000]] Stanfield had a debilitating stroke that left him severely disabled. He died on December 16, 2003, only eight days after the Progressive Conservative Party merged with the [[Canadian Alliance]].

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====References====
* Adapted from the [[Wikipedia]] article, "Robert_Stanfield" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Stanfield http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Stanfield], used under the [[GNU Free Documentation License]]