Sandy Cameron

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(2004-12-25) (aged 66) Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Occupation	Businessman

Early life and career

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]

Political career

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]

Death

Cameron died on December 25, 2004, aged 66, in his hometown of Sherbrooke after a brief battle with cancer.^[21][22]

References

1. "Electoral History for Guysborough" (PDF). Nova Scotia Legislative Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-22. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
2. Elliott, Shirley B. (1984). The Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1758–1983 : a biographical directory. Public Archives of Nova Scotia. p. 27. ISBN 0-88871-050-X. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
3. "'Stanfield type' wins N.S. Liberal leadership". The Globe and Mail. June 9, 1980.
4. Stinelli, Mick (30 April 2022). "Pittsburgh Anglicans Select New Bishop". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
5. "Liberals gain seat from PCs in N.S. voting". The Globe and Mail. June 6, 1973.
6. "Returns of by-election for the House of Assembly 1973" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. 1973. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
7. "Regan again shuffles Nova Scotia Cabinet". The Globe and Mail. August 21, 1973.
8. "Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1974" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. p. 62. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
9. "Three new ministers join Regan cabinet". The Globe and Mail. October 28, 1976.
10. "Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1978" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. p. 62. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
11. "Conservatives sweep Liberals in Nova Scotia". The Globe and Mail. September 20, 1978.
12. "2 seek N.S. Liberal leadership". The Globe and Mail. April 4, 1980.
13. "'County Boy' heads Liberals after Nova Scotia convention". The Montreal Gazette. June 10, 1980. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
14. "PCs win crushing victory in N.S.". The Globe and Mail. October 7, 1981.
15. "Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1981" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. p. 65. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
16. Harris, Michael (July 16, 1982). "A spurned prophet singing the blues". The Globe and Mail.
17. "Buchanan Tories crush opponents in N.S. election". The Globe and Mail. November 7, 1984.
18. "Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1984" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. p. 69. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
19. "Cameron will step down as Opposition leader". The Chronicle Herald. December 18, 1984.
20. "Nova Scotia Liberals pick interim House leader". The Globe and Mail. January 10, 1985.
21. "Best premier we never had dies". The Daily News. Halifax. December 27, 2004.
22. "Cameron dies from cancer". The Chronicle Herald. December 28, 2004. Archived from the original on December 29, 2004. Retrieved 2014-10-24.

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