Lorne Nystrom

Born in Wynyard, Saskatchewan, he was first elected for Yorkton-Melville in 1968. At the age of 22 years and three months, he was the youngest MP in Canadian history - a record he held until Claude-André Lachance was elected at the age of 20 in 1974. He was reelected without serious difficulty until losing to Reform challenger Garry Breitkreuz in 1993.

He returned to Parliament in 1997 in the riding of Qu'Appelle, succeeding fellow New Democrat Simon De Jong. He was reelected from this riding, renamed Regina-Qu'Appelle, in 2000.

Nystrom was defeated in the 2004 election by Conservative candidate (and future leader) Andrew Scheer. Scheer won by a margin of 861 votes. Renominated by the NDP in 2005, Nystrom was defeated again by Scheer in the 2006 election, this time by a larger margin of 2,740 votes.

Nystrom ran for the leadership of the federal NDP three times, placing third in each. In 1975, he finished behind winner Ed Broadbent and runner-up Rosemary Brown. Twenty years later, in 1995, Nystrom ran again but placed behind Svend Robinson and winner Alexa McDonough. His final attempt to win the party's leadership was in the 2003 election that ultimately selected Jack Layton; Nystrom finished in third behind Layton and Bill Blaikie.

In 1992, he was appointed to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada.

As of 2012, Nystrom is a board member of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).[2] Nystrom has also been involved with Brightenview Development International Inc. as the VP of Government Relations and CEO of Brightenvantage International Business Consulting Inc., a subsidiary of Brightenview.

• Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan entry