A corporate executive, Attewell was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Don Valley East defeating Liberal cabinet minister David Smith in the 1984 federal election that brought Brian Mulroney to power.
[2] Attewell won Markham, defeating Liberal candidate Jag Bhaduria and former Conservative MP John Gamble who was running as an independent.
[3] A backbencher throughout the Mulroney years, Attewell was appointed parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Kim Campbell after she won the 1993 Progressive Conservative leadership convention.
[4] Attewell opposed the merger of the Progressive Conservative Party with the Canadian Alliance.
He should not be mistaken for Bill Attwell who was president of the Oak Ridges—Markham federal Liberal riding association in 2007.