Parties & Leaders

Rodney MacDonald

He became premier of Nova Scotia by winning the Progressive Conservative leadership just three months ago. Now Rodney MacDonald, the 34-year-old fiddler from Mabou, is out to officially stake his own claim as leader of the province.

In fact, it's his election to lose.

"It's always good to dole out money and say the province is running a surplus," says David Johnson, a political scientist at Cape Breton University.

MacDonald took over the reins from John Hamm, a popular leader considered the classic image of a Nova Scotia premier – an elder statesman who is everybody's favourite uncle.

• Watch this profile of Rodney MacDonald
  (runs 5:29)

Johnson jokes that voters will decide if MacDonald – now the youngest premier in Canada – fits the mould of everybody's favourite nephew.

"He might want to claim to be loyal to the Hamm legacy and at the same time represent generational change."

MacDonald grew up in Cape Breton. He was a small-town gym teacher and a fiddler, appearing on stages around Eastern Canada and the United States. He was up for two prizes at the 1998 East Coast Music Awards.

His career in politics started when he was elected as the MLA for Inverness in 1999. Over the years he served as minister of tourism, culture and heritage; health promotion; and immigration; and was responsible for the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation and the administration of the Heritage Property Act.

But he has never held a major portfolio such as health, education or finance.

MacDonald launched his campaign for the Tory leadership in November 2005, selling both his young age and his experience as an MLA and cabinet minister as his assets.

• From Nov. 4, 2005: MacDonald joins race to replace Hamm

Three months later at the leadership convention, MacDonald beat former insurance executive Bill Black on the second ballot, by 1,263 votes to 855.

One of the new leader's goals was to broaden the party and attract new members.

"If we're going to grow in Halifax Metro we need to reach out more to individuals. I've committed to that as a leader," MacDonald told reporters.

• From Feb. 13, 2006: MacDonald readies for top job

He tried to do just that with his first budget.

Brought down May 9, the something-for-everyone document reads like a campaign platform – as it turned out to be – with various tax cuts and spending announcements for schools, roads and other infrastructure projects.

As for popularity, MacDonald appears to top the list.

In a poll by Corporate Research Associates released in March, about 36 per cent of respondents said they would most prefer MacDonald as premier, compared to 23 per cent for NDP Leader Darrell Dexter and 16 per cent for Liberal Leader Francis MacKenzie.

But does MacDonald, a young and inexperienced leader, have what it takes to lead his party to win a majority of seats and form the government?

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