Atchison was born and raised in Saskatoon, where he attended Queen Elizabeth and Holliston Elementary School, Walter Murray Collegiate, and the University of Saskatchewan.
[4] Although he did not ultimately play in the NHL, Atchison had a brief professional career in the United States before returning to Saskatoon and joining the family business, the men's wear store Atch & Co.[2][5] He was offered a role in the 1977 hockey film Slap Shot, but turned the opportunity down, thinking it was a joke.
[7] In 1996, he infamously brought forward a heavily derided proposal from local consultant Henry Feldkamp to enclose much of downtown Saskatoon in an $80 million, 10-storey climate-controlled glass atrium dubbed the "Atreos.
[12] The policy was targeted by comedian Rick Mercer, who sponsored an online contest in 2004 that went on to name Atchison "Canada's Craziest Mayor," a title he jokingly embraced.
[19] After the 2016 election, Atchison worked as a consultant for Canwest Commercial and Land Corporation on the development of a World Trade Center in downtown Saskatoon.
He renewed his early-career promise to freeze property taxes and criticized recently adopted initiatives including a new rapid-transit system and a new central library project.
[21] In the summer of 2023, it was reported that Atchison had expressed interest in running once again in 2024, stating that he would "love to be the mayor" again, while targeting municipal spending as a key campaign issue.
[22] In August 2024, he officially announced another bid for mayor; with Clark deciding not to run for a third term, Atchison was joined in the race by two-term councillor Cynthia Block and former provincial cabinet minister Gordon Wyant.