- Elmer MacKay
Elmer MacIntosh MacKay, PC, QC (born
August 5 1936 ) is a retired Canadian politician.MacKay was first elected to the
Canadian House of Commons as the Progressive ConservativeMember of Parliament (MP) forCentral Nova through a 1971by-election . He was re-elected in subsequent elections, and served as Minister of Regional Economic Expansion in the short lived (1979-1980) government of Prime MinisterJoe Clark .MacKay resigned his
parliamentary seat in 1983 in order to allow newly elected PC leaderBrian Mulroney to enter Parliament through a by-election in MacKay'sNova Scotia riding. In the subsequent 1984 election, Mulroney moved to aQuebec riding, and MacKay was again returned to the House as Central Nova's MP.Following the election, Mulroney became prime minister, and appointed MacKay to the
Canadian Cabinet where he served asSolicitor General of Canada for a year before becoming Minister of National Revenue. In 1989, MacKay became Minister of Public Works. From 1989 to 1991, he was also responsible for the "Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Act". While theparliamentary opposition often accused MacKay of doling outpatronage , no wrongdoing was ever proven. He was removed from the ACOA portfolio in 1991. From 1991 to 1993, he remained Public Works minister and was given responsibility for theCanada Mortgage and Housing Corporation .MacKay retired from Cabinet when Mulroney's tenure as party leader ended in 1993, and did not run in the 1993 election.
After leaving politics, MacKay's name was mentioned in relation to the
Airbus affair due to his friendship with principal figures such asKarlheinz Schreiber andFrank Moores , but no specific allegations were ever made against MacKay.Elmer MacKay's son,
Peter MacKay , entered politics several years after his father's retirement, and was the final leader of theProgressive Conservative Party of Canada . The younger MacKay, currently a member of theConservative Party of Canada , is now the Member forCentral Nova , a re-creation of the same riding his father once represented. Once in government, Peter was assigned several portfolios, including that of theAtlantic Canada Opportunities Agency , and the job of representingPrince Edward Island in government; both jobs previously performed by Elmer. Peter has also held the cabinet positions of Minister of International Affairs and Minister of Defense.External links
* [http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/bio.asp?lang=E&query=1316&s=M Political Biography from the Library of Parliament]
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