Remove ads
Alexander MacLean "Sandy" Cameron (December 16, 1938 – December 25, 2004) was a Canadian politician and businessman. He represented the electoral district of Guysborough in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1973 to 1984. He was a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.[1]
Sandy Cameron | |
|---|---|
| MLA for Guysborough | |
| In office June 5, 1973 – November 6, 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Angus MacIsaac |
| Succeeded by | Chuck MacNeil |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alexander MacLean Cameron December 16, 1938 Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Died | December 25, 2004 (aged 66) Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Born in 1938 at Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia, Cameron was the son of Alexander Whitcomb Cameron and Mary Kathryn (MacLean) Cameron.[2] A businessman by career, Cameron was educated at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College and McGill University. He married Shirley Elaine Vatcher in 1961.[2] Both his father, Alexander W. Cameron, and his grandfather, Alexander F. Cameron served as MLAs for Guysborough County.[3] His son, Alex Cameron (born 1964), became an Anglican Church of Canada priest and was in 2022 elected bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh.[4]
Remove ads
Cameron entered provincial politics in 1973, winning a byelection in the Guysborough riding.[5][6] In August 1973, Cameron was appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia as Minister of Fisheries.[7] He was re-elected in the 1974 election,[8] and continued to serve in the fisheries portfolio. In February 1976, he was given an additional role in cabinet as Minister of Lands and Forests.[2] In October 1976, Gerald Regan shuffled his cabinet, moving Cameron to Minister of Development.[9] Cameron was re-elected by 13 votes in the 1978 election,[10] but moved to the opposition benches as Regan's Liberal government was defeated.[11]
As leader of the Liberal Party
On April 3, 1980, Cameron announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.[12] At the leadership convention on June 8, Cameron defeated MLA Vince MacLean on the third ballot to win the leadership.[3][13] In the 1981 election, the Liberals were reduced to 13 seats as John Buchanan's Tories were re-elected with a bigger majority.[14] However, Cameron was re-elected in his own riding by over 600 votes,[15] and continued to serve as party leader.[16] He led the Liberals into the 1984 election, but the party was reduced to 6 seats, while their popular vote dropped to 31 per cent.[17] Cameron was also defeated in his own riding, losing to Progressive Conservative Chuck MacNeil by 390 votes.[18] Cameron announced in December that he would resign as Opposition leader when an interim leader in the legislature was chosen.[19] He was succeeded by Vince MacLean.[20]
Remove ads
Cameron died on December 25, 2004, aged 66, in his hometown of Sherbrooke after a brief battle with cancer.[21][22]
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
Remove ads