Dr. Mark Lorne Bonnell, M.D.

BONNELL, M.D., (CM.), LL.D., L.M.C.C, HONOURABLE MARK LORNE, physician; b. 4 January 1923 in Hopefield, son of Henry (Harry) George Horace Bonnell and Charlotte Matilda MacEachern; m. 6 July 1949 Ruby Jardine, and they had two children, Mark Lome and Linda Florence; Presbyterian. Bonnell, a Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1951 for 4th Kings. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1955, 1959, 1962, 1966, and 1970. From 1955 to 1959, he served as Minister of Health. In 1965 he was appointed Liberal House Leader and acting Leader of the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party. In December 1965 Bonnell was a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party, won by Alexander B. Campbell*. He served as Minister of Welfare from 1966 to 1970, and Minister of Tourism Development from 1966 to 1971. Bonnell served as Minister Responsible for Housing from 1970 to 1971. On 15 November 1971, he was appointed to the Senate. Bonnell was a member of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, and he chaired the Sub-Committee on Post-Secondary Education and served as deputy chair of the Sub-Committee on Veterans Affairs. Senator Bonnell opposed Bill C-22, the Drug Patent Act, as he was concerned that jobs would be lost and the cost of drugs would increase. Bonnell's elevation to the Senate meant that a by-election was needed in 4lh Kings. Held 4 December 1972, it was won by his brother, John Cranston*, also a Liberal. Their grandfather, Mark H. Bonnell, was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1922 for 4th Kings and served until 1923. Bonnell was educated at Hopefield school beginning in 1929. In 1934 he attended West Kent School and from 1939 to 1943 Prince of Wales College. In 1949 Bonnell graduated from the medical school of Dalhousie University. He practises as a physician and surgeon in Murray River and Montague, and he was a member of the Medical Staff of Kings County Memorial Hospital in Montague. Bonnell was also a member of the Charlottetown Hospital Medical Staff and an Associate of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He was also president of Island Cablevision Limited. Bonnell is a member of the Prince Edward Island Medical Society and the Canadian Medical Society. He is an honourary member of the Prince Edward Island Tourist Association and a Past Master of St. Andrew's Lodge No. 13, and Philae Temple Halifax. He is a past member of the Kings County Board of Trade. In May 2001 Bonnell received an Honourary Doctorate ot Laws from the University of Prince Edward Island. Mark Lome Bonnell is a resident of Murray River. Ruby Bonnell, the daughter of John Jardine of Charlottetown and Freetown, died 17 December 1979.