Don Downe
Canadian politician (born 1951)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Donald Richard Downe (born 1951) is a farmer and political figure in Nova Scotia, Canada. He represented Lunenburg West in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1993 to 2003 as a Liberal member.[1]
Don Downe | |
|---|---|
| MLA for Lunenburg West | |
| In office May 25, 1993 – February 18, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Marie Dechman |
| Succeeded by | Carolyn Bolivar-Getson |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office April 8, 1998 – August 16, 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Gillis |
| Succeeded by | Neil LeBlanc |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1951 (age 74–75) |
| Party | Liberal |
Early life
Downe was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He was a poultry farm owner and was president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture.
Political career
Provincial politics
In 1992, he ran for the leadership of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party,[2] losing on the second ballot to John Savage.[3][4]
In the 1993 election, Downe defeated Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Marie Dechman by almost 3,400 votes in Lunenburg West.[5][6] On June 11, 1993, Downe was appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia as Minister of Natural Resources.[7] In March 1996, Downe was moved to Minister of Business and Consumer Services,[8][9] but was shuffled again in June 1996, when he was named Minister of Transportation and Public Works.[10] When Russell MacLellan was sworn-in as premier in July 1997, Downe remained as Minister of Transportation and Public Works.[11][12]
Downe was re-elected in the 1998 election.[13][14] On April 8, 1998, he was named Minister of Finance, Minister of Environment, Minister responsible for Aboriginal Affairs, and Deputy Premier.[15][16] In December 1998, the Environment portfolio was transferred to Michel Samson.[17] The Liberals lost government in the 1999 election, but Downe was re-elected by almost 1,000 votes in his riding.[18] Considered a possible leadership candidate following MacLellan's resignation as leader, Downe declined to enter the race.[4] On November 21, 2002, Downe announced that he would be not be running in the next provincial election,[19][20] and officially resigned as MLA on February 18, 2003.[21][22]
Municipal politics
In 2008, Downe returned to politics and was elected the first mayor of the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.[23][24] He was re-elected in 2012.[25] Downe did not for re-election in the 2016 municipal election.[26]