Charles Lewis Parker is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former educator and politician who represented the constituency of

Pictou West Pictou West is a provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Its member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) since 2024 has been Marco MacLeod of the ...

in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

from 1998 to 1999, and from 2003 to 2013. He sat as a member of the

Nova Scotia New Democratic Party The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party (Nova Scotia NDP) is a social democratic political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the provincial section for the province of the federal New Democratic Party. It was founded as the Co-operative Commonwe ...

. Parker was born and raised on his family's farm in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

. A graduate of West Pictou District High School, Parker is a graduate of the

Nova Scotia Teachers College The Nova Scotia Teachers College (NSTC) was a normal school located in the Canadian town of Truro, Nova Scotia. History The Nova Scotia Teachers College was founded as the Provincial Normal School by an act of the Nova Scotia House of Assem ...

and he also graduated from

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly Undergraduate education, undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some Postgraduate education, graduate programs at the master's level and one at the Doctorate, doctor ...

with a BSc. Parker worked as a public school teacher as well as owning and operating a garden centre/nursery and was a realtor. Parker lives in

Loch Broom Loch Broom (, "loch of rain showers") is a sea loch located in northwestern Ross and Cromarty, in the former parish of Lochbroom, on the west coast of Scotland. The small town of Ullapool lies on the eastern shore of the loch. Little Loch Br ...

and is married with two children.

Political career

Parker began his public service as a municipal councillor for the Municipality of the County of Pictou where he served four terms. In 1998 Parker successfully ran for the

nomination in the riding of

. He was elected in the 1998 provincial election by a margin of 33 votes (40.3% of votes cast). Parker lost in the 1999 provincial election by a margin of 147 votes (35.69% of votes cast). In the 2003 provincial election Parker re-offered with the NDP in Pictou West and was elected with 44.05% of the vote, by a margin of 880 votes. Parker was re-elected in the 2006 provincial election with 54.89%, increasing his margin to 1,589 votes. While a member of the official opposition, Parker served as the

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

for Natural Resources. He also served as

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of the Standing Committee on Private and Local Bills and sat on the Legislature's Human Resources Committee. Parker was re-elected in the 2009 provincial election which saw the Nova Scotia NDP win a majority of seats. Parker was elected in the fall sitting of the legislature as Speaker of the House of Assembly. He resigned this post in January 2011 after being offered a cabinet position, having been appointed to the

Executive Council of Nova Scotia The Executive Council of Nova Scotia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Nova Scotia) is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Almost always made up of members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the cabinet is s ...

where he served as Minister of Natural Resources as well as Minister of Energy. Parker lost his seat in the 2013 provincial election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Charlie Acadia University alumni Nova Scotia Teachers College alumni Politicians from Pictou County Nova Scotia New Democratic Party MLAs Living people Speakers of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia municipal councillors 1951 births 21st-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly