Heward William Grafftey

The Honourable William Heward Grafftey was a Canadian politician and businessman. Grafftey was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1958 general election that elected John Diefenbaker’s Progressive Conservative Party in a landslide victory. A resident of the Eastern Townships, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Brome—Missisquoi from 1958 to 1968. From 1962 to 1963, Grafftey served as parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance. Due to his relatively short stature and impish looks, Grafftey earned the nickname of “The Gnome from Brome,” during his twenty years in politics.rnrnIn the 1964 Great Flag Debate, he was one of a handful of Conservative MPs who broke with leader John Diefenbaker to support the adoption of the Maple Leaf flag. Grafftey sat as a Tory MP until losing his seat in the 1968 Trudeau landslide. During this period, he called for radical reforms to Canada’s housing policies.rnrnHe had three children.