Eric Linkord Byfield was a Canadian news columnist, author, and politician.
10 Facts About Link Byfield
1.
2.
One of six siblings born to Ted, a conservative columnist, and Virginia Byfield, Link became a columnist for the Calgary Sun and occasionally was published in the Calgary Herald, National Post, Globe and Mail and Winnipeg Free Press.
3.
Link Byfield was the first to declare his candidacy for the 2004 Alberta Senate nominee election on September 27,2004.
4.
Link Byfield decided to remain independent of the other parties, and was one of two independent senator-in-waiting candidates.
5.
Link Byfield was elected to the 4th and final spot in the block vote with 236,382 votes.
6.
Link Byfield is the first independent senator-in-waiting, and the first independent elected in an Alberta election since Raymond Speaker and Walt Buck in 1982.
7.
Link Byfield helped found the Wildrose Party of Alberta in 2007, which merged with the Alberta Alliance Party on January 19,2008, shortly before a provincial general election was called.
8.
The party dropped "Alliance" from its name for media purposes prior to the 2012 general election and Link Byfield ran as the Wildrose Party candidate for Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock in that April election.
9.
On January 24,2015, Link Byfield died of liver and esophageal cancer, aged 63, in the Sturgeon Community Hospital in St Albert, Alberta, just north of Edmonton.
10.
Link Byfield was survived by his father, his wife Joanne, four children and four siblings.