On February 29th, former professional wrestler Paul "Butcher" Vachon passed away at the age of 86 following a three-decade long battle with cancer as well as diabetes.
Vachon was part of a Quebec wrestling dynasty along with his older brother Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon, his younger sister Vivian Vachon and his adopted daughter Luna Vachon, all of whom predeceased him.
Nearly 30 years ago, I met Vachon. But the circumstances of our meeting had nothing to do with professional wrestling.
In June 1995, I met Vachon at a NDP Federal Council Meeting in Ottawa. This took place not long after returning from the U.K. where I had just finished a stint as a parliamentary intern for two Labour MPs. Honestly, I don't remember much of our conversation although I specifically recall asking him about how Mad Dog was doing. At this same meeting, I also met Alexa McDonough whom I would support for her successful bid for the party's leadership that October.
After retiring from the ring, Vachon got involved in NDP politics running as a candidate for the party in Quebec in both the 1988 and 1993 federal elections as well as in a by-election earlier that year. The NDP did not have much of a foothold in Quebec at the time and Vachon was never successful in attaining office. However, Vachon was a great for a photo-op. I can remember pictures of NDP leader Ed Broadbent (who passed away earlier this year) having Vachon in a head lock and Vachon arm wrestling with Broadbent's successor Audrey McLaughlin. Even if Vachon wasn't successful at the electoral level, he made for good copy.
R.I.P.
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