George Little (May 22, 1937May 15, 2021) was a Scottish-Canadian teacher and politician. He served as leader of the

New Brunswick New Democratic Party The New Brunswick New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique du Nouveau-Brunswick) is a social-democratic provincial political party in New Brunswick, Canada linked with the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). History Or ...

(NDP) from 1980 to 1988.

Early life

Little was born in

Bellshill Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton to the southwest, Viewpark to the w ...

, Scotland, on May 22, 1937, one of five children of George Sr. and Mary (Wyper). He started his teaching career in

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, ...

, before relocating to

South Yemen South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...

and Saudi Arabia.Harris, Michael, "Looking on the NDP's bright side," ''Globe and Mail'', September 3, 1982 He and his family immigrated to

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of ...

, Canada in 1964.

Career

Little was head of the English department at Simonds High School for more than three decades. He was also the author of many published poems and short stories. One of his books of short stories, ''The Many Deaths of George Robertson'', was published by

Goose Lane Editions Goose Lane Editions is a Canadian book publishing company founded in 1954 in Fredericton, New Brunswick as Fiddlehead Poetry Books by Fred Cogswell and a group of students and faculty from the University of New Brunswick associated with ''The F ...

in 1990.

Politics

Little was elected leader of the provincial NDP in 1980. During the provincial election two years later, the party ran on the platform of creating 17,000 jobs during their first year in power, a bill of rights for workers, affordable housing, cheaper energy, and the amelioration of education, healthcare, and transportation. A staunch advocate for environmental controls, Little was of the opinion that nuclear power was "expensive, risky, and not even necessary for our own power needs". He stated that the construction of the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station "was a mistake, and we're determined that the same mistake should not be made again", in light of the four heavy water spills that occurred there during its first six months of operation. However, he was forced to make a key concession to his party – who risked losing some of its traditional votes over the issue – which took a neutral stance on nuclear energy. Under his leadership, the NDP received more than 10% of the province-wide vote for the first time and won seats in the legislative assembly for the first time. It ultimately gained two seats, although one of their members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) ended up defecting to the Liberals. Little himself ran in the electoral district of

Kings West Kings West is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. It includes the towns of Berwick and Kingston, and the village of Greenwood. Geography The electoral district ...

in the 1978, 1982 and 1987 provincial elections, but failed to win a seat.Story, Alan, "NDP leader is 'fired up' by support," ''Toronto Star'', September 14, 2007 He stepped down as leader in 1988. He also ran for the federal

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

Fundy Royal Fundy Royal (formerly known as Royal from 1914 to 1966, Fundy—Royal from 1966 to 2003, and Fundy in 2003-2004) is a federal electoral district in southern New Brunswick, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since ...

in the 1980 federal election, but was defeated by Robert Corbett of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Personal life

Little married Pearl Floey (Cassels) in 1959. They remained married for 62 years until his death. Together, they had two children: Jacqueline and Alison. Little died on May 15, 2021, at Saint John Regional Hospital in

. He was 83 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, George 1937 births 2021 deaths Scottish emigrants to Canada Candidates in New Brunswick provincial elections New Brunswick New Democratic Party leaders Politicians from Saint John, New Brunswick People from Bellshill