Don Downe Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Don Downe
Birth Date:1951
Birth Place:Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Residence:Wileville, Nova Scotia
Office:MLA for Lunenburg West
Term Start:May 25, 1993
Term End:February 18, 2003
Predecessor:Marie Dechman
Successor:Carolyn Bolivar-Getson
Office3:Minister of Finance
Term Start3:April 8, 1998
Term End3:August 16, 1999
Predecessor3:Bill Gillis
Successor3:Neil LeBlanc

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]

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]

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Electoral History for Lunenburg West. Nova Scotia Legislative Library. 2018-04-23.
  2. News: Liberal race gets second entry. Toronto Star. April 9, 1992.
  3. News: Liberals call up new leader. The Globe and Mail. June 22, 1992.
  4. News: Liberals search for leader. CBC News. May 23, 2001. 2018-04-23.
  5. Web site: Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1993 . Elections Nova Scotia . 1993 . 126 . 2014-11-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141006070337/http://electionsnovascotia.ca/sites/default/files/General%20Election%201993.pdf . 2014-10-06 .
  6. Web site: Liberal sweep claims cabinet ministers. The Chronicle Herald. May 26, 1993. 2014-11-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20000830230443/http://www.herald.ns.ca/cgi-bin/home/displaypackstory?1993%2F05%2F26+107.raw+PE93Elect. August 30, 2000. dead.
  7. Web site: Historic Liberal cabinet sworn in. The Chronicle Herald. June 12, 1993. 2014-11-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20000830201132/http://www.herald.ns.ca/cgi-bin/home/displaypackstory?1993%2F06%2F12+100.raw+PE93Elect. August 30, 2000. dead.
  8. Web site: Premier announces cabinet realignment. Government of Nova Scotia. March 22, 1996. 2014-11-21.
  9. News: Downe climbs cabinet ladder as new department boss. The Chronicle Herald. March 23, 1996.
  10. Web site: Premier shuffles cabinet. Government of Nova Scotia. June 27, 1996. 2014-11-21.
  11. Web site: Premier MacLellan, new cabinet sworn in. Government of Nova Scotia. July 18, 1997. 2014-11-21.
  12. Web site: MacLellan makeover. The Chronicle Herald. July 19, 1997. 2014-11-21. https://web.archive.org/web/19980204071951/http://www.herald.ns.ca/specialevents/libleader/stories/970719100.html. February 4, 1998.
  13. Web site: Election Returns, 1998 (Lunenburg West). Elections Nova Scotia. 2014-11-21.
  14. Web site: Grit veterans swept away by 'orange tide'. The Chronicle Herald. March 25, 1998. 2014-11-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20050124010502/http://www.herald.ns.ca/cgi-bin/home/displaypackstory?1998%2F03%2F25+270.raw+PE98Mar25+2. January 24, 2005. dead.
  15. Web site: A cabinet with four legs. The Chronicle Herald. April 9, 1998. 2014-11-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20050123224339/http://www.herald.ns.ca/cgi-bin/home/displaypackstory?1998%2F04%2F09+214.raw+PE98Apr9+2. January 23, 2005. dead.
  16. Web site: Who's who in the new crew. The Chronicle Herald. April 9, 1998. 2014-11-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20050123224500/http://www.herald.ns.ca/cgi-bin/home/displaypackstory?1998%2F04%2F09+231.raw+PE98Apr9+2. January 23, 2005. dead.
  17. Web site: Premier MacLellan shuffles cabinet. Government of Nova Scotia. December 11, 1998. 2014-11-21.
  18. Web site: Election Returns, 1999 (Lunenburg West). Elections Nova Scotia. 2014-11-21.
  19. Web site: Downe and out in Lunenburg West. SouthShoreNow. November 27, 2002. 2014-11-21. dead. https://archive.today/20141121045749/http://www.southshorenow.ca/en/20021127/News/61369/Downe-and-out-in-Lunenburg-West.htm. November 21, 2014.
  20. Web site: Downe stepping down. November 22, 2002. 2014-11-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20030322122858/http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2002/11/22/f191.raw.html. March 22, 2003 .
  21. Web site: Don Downe resigns seat. SouthShoreNow. February 18, 2003. 2014-11-21. dead. https://archive.today/20141121045750/http://www.southshorenow.ca/en/20030219/News/53391/Don-Downe-resigns-seat.htm. November 21, 2014.
  22. Web site: MLA Downe officially out of N.S. politics. February 19, 2003. 2014-11-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20030707090705/http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2003/02/19/fNovaScotia136.raw.html. July 7, 2003 .
  23. News: Former cabinet minister Don Downe chosen as county's first mayor . SouthshoreNow News . October 21, 2008 . 2012-05-19 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111124044717/http://southshorenow.ca/archives/2008/102108/news/index035.php . November 24, 2011 .
  24. Web site: Mayors elected around Nova Scotia. CBC News. October 19, 2008. 2014-11-21.
  25. Web site: Don Downe returned as mayor of Municipality of Lunenburg. SouthShoreNow. October 24, 2012. 2014-11-21. dead. https://archive.today/20141121045750/http://www.southshorenow.ca/en/20121024/News/8941/Don-Downe-returned-as-mayor-of-Municipality-of-Lunenburg.htm. November 21, 2014.
  26. Web site: Downe steps away from politics as Lunenburg district races shape up. The Chronicle Herald. September 16, 2016. 2016-12-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20161227230343/http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1397623-downe-steps-away-from-politics-as-lunenburg-district-races-shape-up. December 27, 2016. dead.

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