{"id":96786,"date":"2026-07-28T01:16:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T04:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2026\/07\/28\/he-was-a-pictou-county-political-icon-remembering-former-mp-elmer-mackay\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T01:16:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T04:16:00","slug":"he-was-a-pictou-county-political-icon-remembering-former-mp-elmer-mackay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2026\/07\/28\/he-was-a-pictou-county-political-icon-remembering-former-mp-elmer-mackay\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018He was a Pictou County political icon\u2019: Remembering former MP Elmer MacKay"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
<\/header>\n
\n
\n

\"\u2018he-was-a-pictou-county-political-icon\u2019:-remembering-former-mp-elmer-mackay\"<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018He was a Pictou County political icon\u2019: Remembering former MP Elmer MacKay<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Former Central Nova MP Elmer MacKay died July 24. Photo by Aaron Beswick \/The Chronicle HeraldArticle contentNEW GLASGOW \u2013 Elmer MacKay, former Central Nova member of Parliament and Pictou County political icon, passed away on July 24 at 89 years old.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentMacKay was born in Hopewell in 1936 and practised law in Pictou County before turning to politics.Article contentArticle contentA graduate of Dalhousie Law School and Acadia University, MacKay quickly became a prominent member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada upon his entry into politics.Article contentArticle contentHe would be elected as MP for Central Nova in 1971 during a byelection and hold the role for 22 years.Article content\u201cOur community has lost one of its longest-serving champions,\u201d Central Nova MP Sean Fraser said in a July 24 Facebook post.Article content\u201cElmer MacKay served as the MP for Central Nova for more than two decades, held a number of cabinet portfolios, and remained committed to the betterment of our region long after his term in office ended. He held deep knowledge about government and politics, was quick-witted, and loved our part of the world. I am thinking of Peter and the whole MacKay family today. The whole community feels your loss.\u201dArticle contentMacKay resigned his seat in 1983 to allow newly elected PC Leader Brian Mulroney to run in that riding instead.Article contentHe was elected once again in the 1984 election and continued serving as MP until 1993, when he stepped down as cabinet minister and did not seek re-election.Article contentArticle contentMacKay\u2019s cabinet roles included regional economic expansion, solicitor general, national revenue, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and public works.Article contentArticle content\u201cHe was a Pictou County political icon who always put community first,\u201d said Danny MacGillivray, MLA for Pictou Centre.Article content\u201cHis time in the inner circle of Ottawa reaped huge benefits for Nova Scotia and Pictou County. I worked with Elmer during my time as the mayor of Stellarton, securing the North Nova SPCA for the Albion Business Park. Elmer\u2019s strong work ethic, compassionate nature, love of family and pets, astute intellect, political savvy, and keen business sense were all evident to me.Article content\u201cPerhaps most important of all his traits, he cared about our community, and all the living souls that comprise it. Listening to Elmer recount his days on the federal scene, always with a humorous twist, comprises some of the most cherished memories of my political career.\u201dArticle contentThe announcement of his death on July 24 drew widespread condolences for the former politician and his family from across Pictou County, including messages from the Municipality of Pictou County and its towns.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018He was a Pictou County political icon\u2019: Remembering former MP Elmer MacKay Former Central Nova MP Elmer MacKay died July 24. Photo by Aaron Beswick \/The Chronicle HeraldArticle contentNEW GLASGOW \u2013 Elmer MacKay, former Central Nova member of Parliament and Pictou County political icon, passed away on July 24 at 89 years old.THIS CONTENT IS […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":96787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,590,1],"tags":[116,589],"class_list":["post-96786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-indigenous","category-newfoundland-and-labrador","category-uncategorized","tag-indigenous","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}