Sandy Cameron
MLA for Guysborough
In office
June 5, 1973 – November 6, 1984
Preceded byAngus MacIsaac
Succeeded byChuck MacNeil
Personal details
Born
Alexander MacLean Cameron

December 16, 1938
Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia, Canada
DiedDecember 25, 2004(2004-12-25) (aged 66)
Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political partyLiberal
OccupationBusinessman

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]

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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b "'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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