1. Peter MacKay was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and has served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Minister of National Defence, and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of Canada under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
55 Facts About Peter MacKay
1. 2.
The son of Canadian politician and Minister of Public Works Elmer Peter MacKay, Peter MacKay received his undergraduate degree from Acadia University and his law degree from Dalhousie University.
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On January 15,2020, Peter MacKay announced his candidacy for the 2020 Conservative leadership race.
4.
Peter MacKay was defeated by former veterans affairs minister Erin O'Toole on the third ballot of the leadership vote.
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Peter MacKay's father, Elmer MacKay, is a former PC cabinet minister, lumber businessman, and lawyer.
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Peter MacKay's mother, Eirene Macha MacKay, was a psychologist and peace activist; through her, Peter MacKay is descended from James Alexander, 3rd Earl of Caledon and James Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam.
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Peter MacKay grew up in Wolfville, Nova Scotia with his three siblings.
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Peter MacKay then studied law at Dalhousie University and was called to the Nova Scotia Bar in June 1991.
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Peter MacKay worked for Thyssen Henschel, a steel producer, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and in Dusseldorf and Kassel, Germany.
10.
In 1993, Peter MacKay accepted an appointment as Crown Attorney for the Central Region of Nova Scotia.
11.
Peter MacKay prosecuted cases at all levels, including youth and provincial courts as well as the Supreme Court of Canada.
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Peter MacKay has publicly stated that the major impetus for his entry into federal politics was his frustrations with the shortcomings in the justice system, particularly his perception that the courts do not care about the impact crime has on victims.
13.
Peter MacKay was one of a handful of newly elected "Young Turk" PC MPs, who were under 35 years old when elected and were considered the future leadership material that might restore the ailing Tories to their glory days.
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Peter MacKay was the PC member of the Board of Internal Economy and the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.
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Peter MacKay acted as an associate member of the Standing Committees on Canadian Heritage, Finance and the sub-committee on the Study of Sport.
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Peter MacKay served as PC Party House Leader from September 23,1997, to September 12,2001.
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Peter MacKay was re-elected in the 2000 federal election and was frequently touted by the media as a possible successor to PC Party leader Joe Clark.
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Peter MacKay has been voted the "sexiest male MP in the House of Commons" by the Hill Times for six years in a row.
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Peter MacKay was appointed House Leader of the new PC-DR Parliamentary Coalition Caucus when it was formally recognized as a political body on September 10,2001.
20.
Peter MacKay's name was one of the first to be raised as a possible leadership contender.
21.
Peter MacKay was largely seen as the assumed victor of the race from the outset of the leadership contest.
22.
Peter MacKay formally launched his leadership campaign in his hometown of New Glasgow in January 2003.
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For much of the race, Peter MacKay was the clear front-runner.
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Peter MacKay's campaign was largely based on his leadership skills and a national organization rather than on policies or new directions.
25.
Peter MacKay is largely viewed by political analysts as a Red Tory.
26.
Peter MacKay voted in favour of same-sex marriage in 2006.
27.
Orchard repeatedly referred to a "gentleman's agreement" made between himself and Peter MacKay that had led to his qualified support.
28.
At first, Peter MacKay seemed to be willing to adhere to the deal.
29.
Peter MacKay appointed a couple of low level staff workers who had been supportive of David Orchard's leadership bid.
30.
Rex Murphy noted in a Globe and Mail column that Peter MacKay's leadership arrived "stillborn" and that, perhaps for the first time in recent memory, a party immediately emerged from a leadership convention grievously weakened and even less united than when it entered the convention.
31.
Public musings that the divided PCs would be marginalized in a future election between a relatively stable western-based CA under Stephen Harper and the massively popular Paul Martin Liberals, Peter MacKay encouraged talks between high-profile members of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives.
32.
Peter MacKay announced on January 13,2004, that he would not run for the leadership of the new Conservative Party.
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Peter MacKay was easily re-elected in the June 28,2004 federal election in the newly redistributed riding of Central Nova.
34.
Peter MacKay would have been considered a front-runner in the race; however, he decided to remain with the Federal Conservatives.
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Peter MacKay did retain his seat by a comfortable margin.
36.
Peter MacKay responded to critics saying that the process was slow, that the boats had limited capacity.
37.
In 2008, Peter MacKay announced a broad exhaustive and very expensive program to upgrade the Canadian military's equipment, spending over $400 billion over 25 years.
38.
In July 2010, Peter MacKay was accused of inappropriately using public funds when he combined the use of a Canadian Cormorant military helicopter for both a search and rescue demonstration, and to transport the minister from a private fishing camp in Newfoundland to Gander Airport.
39.
Documents provided to parliament by Peter Mackay indicated that Lockheed Martin had delivered the F-35 mockup used in the photo-op for free, and that the cost was primarily for services to support the news conference and one hundred invited guests.
40.
On May 29,2015, Peter MacKay announced that he would not be a candidate in the 2015 federal election.
41.
In February 2016, Peter MacKay joined law firm Baker McKenzie as a partner.
42.
On November 17,2017, Peter MacKay said he had not ruled out the possibility of running for the leadership of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party.
43.
On September 12,2016, Peter MacKay announced he would not seek the Conservative party leadership.
44.
On January 15,2020, Peter MacKay announced his intention to run for the 2020 Conservative Party of Canada leadership race.
45.
Peter MacKay was appointed to the board of Cielo Waste Solutions Corp.
46.
On October 10,2019, The Globe and Mail reported that Peter MacKay supporters were preparing to launch a leadership bid should Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer fail to secure a government in the 2019 federal election.
47.
On January 15,2020, Peter MacKay announced his intention to run for the 2020 Conservative Party of Canada leadership race.
48.
Peter MacKay was defeated by Erin O'Toole on the third ballot of the leadership vote.
49.
Peter MacKay then was romantically linked to fellow MP Belinda Stronach in published reports.
50.
On May 18,2005, Peter MacKay told the CBC that his relationship with Stronach was indeed over, and that it had come as a surprise to him that she had crossed the floor.
51.
Peter MacKay had been seen in public dating Jana Juginovic, director of programming at CTV News Channel, after having kept their relationship private for many months.
52.
On January 4,2012, Peter MacKay married Nazanin Afshin-Jam, an Iranian-born former beauty queen, in a ceremony in Mexico.
53.
Peter MacKay is co-founder and president of Stop Child Executions, a human rights group whose aim is to focus world attention on the plight of young people on death row in Iran.
54.
Peter MacKay has been active in Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Pictou County Senior Rugby Club and the YMCA.
55.
Peter MacKay played for the Nova Scotia Keltics rugby union club.