Myron Thompson
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Myron Thompson
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Member of Parliament
for Wild Rose |
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| In office 1993 – 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Louise Feltham |
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| Succeeded by | Blake Richards |
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| Born | April 23, 1936 Monte Vista, Colorado |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Dot Thompson |
| Residence | Sundre, Alberta |
| Profession | educator |
Myron Thompson (born 23 April 1936) is a Conservative Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons. He represents the riding of Wild Rose in Alberta.
A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, Thompson was born and raised in Monte Vista, Colorado. At the age 19 he tried out for the New York Yankees as a catcher, but failed to make the team due to Yogi Berra's dominance at the position. Years later in a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, upon hearing of the tryout, Bush looked at Thompson's hands and guessed which position he played.
In the 1950s, Thompson studied at Adams State College in Colorado, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Education.
Thompson served in the United States Army from 1958 to 1960. He moved to Canada in 1968 and became a citizen in 1974. For 23 years, Thompson was a high school teacher and then principal, and later became the mayor of Sundre, Alberta, serving from 1974 to 1980.
He was first elected to Parliament in 1993 as a member of the Reform Party, and has continued to serve under its successors the Canadian Alliance and the Conservative Party of Canada.
He is best known for wearing a cowboy hat.
While serving in opposition, he was harshly critical of the Liberal government. Issues he has focused on include:
- government spending
- same-sex marriage
- victims' rights
- child pornography
- prison reform
Thompson has also been one of the loudest voices against former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s decision that Canada would not take part in the multinational force in Iraq and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
In June 2007, Thompson announced that he would not be running for re-election.
His son, Dennis Thompson, who also has dual American-Canadian citizenship, enlisted in the U.S. army in 1996 and later served for a year in Iraq and Afghanistan.
