William Bennett Campbell

W. Bennett Campbell (born 1943) is a former Prince Edward Island politician and premier. Campbell, a teacher by profession, entered politics in 1970 and was elected to the provincial legislature as a Liberal. In 1972 he became minister of education and then provincial secretary in 1974 before becoming minister of finance in 1976. When Liberal leader and PEI Premier Alexander B. Campbell (no relation) announced his retirement, W. Bennett Campbell ran and won the Liberal leadership and was sworn in as Premier on September 18, 1978. However, his government was defeated in the general election held the next year. He remained party leader and leader of the oppositionuntil he decided to enter federal politics. He won a seat in the Canadian House of Commons through a 1981 by-election and became minister of veterans affairs in the cabinet of Pierre Trudeau. He retained his portfolio when John Turner succeeded Trudeau as Liberal leader and Prime Minister of Canada but lost his seat in the 1984 Canadian election that brought down the short lived Turner government.