Piers McDonald, OC (born August 4, 1955) is a

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

politician and businessman. Born in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Tor ...

, McDonald, originally a

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting ...

by profession, is a long-time MLA, Cabinet minister, and the fifth

premier of Yukon The premier of Yukon is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian territory of Yukon. The post is the territory's head of government, although its powers are considerably more limited than that of a provincial premier. The office ...

. He was leader of the

Yukon New Democratic Party The Yukon New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique du Yukon) is a social-democratic political party in the Yukon territory of Canada. The Yukon NDP first formed the government of the territory under the leadership of Tony P ...

from 1995 to 2000. Post-politics, McDonald became a businessman and community developer. He is a founding member, and currently chair, of Northern Vision Development, which has focused on residential and property revitalization, commercial real estate, and hospitality services in Yukon. He was also the chancellor of

Yukon University Yukon University (formerly Yukon College) is a public university in the Canadian territory of Yukon. The university main campus is based in Whitehorse, although the institution also operates 12 campuses throughout the territory. The university ...

from 2016 to 2020.

Political career

25th Legislative Assembly

McDonald was elected in the rural riding of Mayo as part of the New Democrat caucus in the 1982 election. Taking more than half the vote, he defeated incumbent Progressive Conservative MLA Swede Hanson. McDonald had been an underground miner, labour leader, and vice-president of the Yukon Federation of Labour before his entry into territorial politics. The New Democrats, under the leadership of

Tony Penikett Antony David John "Tony" Penikett (born November 14, 1945) is a mediator and negotiator and former politician in Yukon, Canada, who served as the third premier of Yukon from 1985 to 1992. Early life and political activity Born in Sussex, Engl ...

, formed the Official Opposition in the 25th Legislative Assembly. McDonald acted as critic for Rural Development, Labour, Occupational Health and Safety, and Workers' Compensation.

26th Legislative Assembly

In the 1985 election, Tony Penikett led the New Democrats to a narrow minority government. McDonald was sworn in as a member of the Yukon Executive Council as Minister of Education, Minister of Community and Transportation Services, and Minister of the Yukon Housing Corporation. During that time, McDonald oversaw a significant agenda for his portfolios, ushering in the creation of the

Yukon College Yukon University (formerly Yukon College) is a public university in the Canadian territory of Yukon. The university main campus is based in Whitehorse, although the institution also operates 12 campuses throughout the territory. The university co ...

and the establishment of the Yukon Arts Centre and the Whitehorse Public Library. Other initiatives of his included: the Native Teacher Education Program; the opening and paving of the South Klondike Highway, which provided tidewater access for Yukon mines; the transfer of private-sector municipal airports and the Alaska Highway to the Yukon Government; and the establishment of the first home ownership programs and homesteader policies in the territory.

27th Legislative Assembly

McDonald was re-elected in Mayo in the 1989 election, which saw the New Democrats attain majority status in the legislative assembly. He was once again sworn into Cabinet, this time as Government House Leader, Minister of Education, Minister of Government Services, Minister of Economic Development, Mines and Small Business, Minister of the Public Service Commission, and Minister of the Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board. During the 27th Legislative Assembly, McDonald oversaw the creation of the Yukon's first ''Education Act'', as well as a new ''Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Act''. He oversaw the signing of an oil and gas accord with the

Government of the Northwest Territories The Politics of Northwest Territories involves not only the governance of the Northwest Territories but also the social, economic and political issues specific to the territory. This includes matters relating to local governance and governance by ...

and an economic development agreement with the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-i ...

. Within the public school system, he also established policies on busing, computers, special needs education, and experiential learning. Yukon's only French First Language school, École Emilie Tremblay, was opened under his mandate.

28th Legislative Assembly

In the 1992 election, McDonald ran for election in the newly created

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's Downtown Whitehorse, downtown ...

riding of

McIntyre-Takhini McIntyre-Takhini is an electoral district which returned a member (known as an MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of the Yukon Territory in Canada. It was dissolved in 2009 into the ridings Takhini-Kopper King and Mountainview. It contained the ...

. His riding of Mayo had been amalgamated with the neighbouring riding of Tatchun. He was elected to McIntyre-Takhini that election, but the Penikett government was narrowly defeated by a minority

Yukon Party The Yukon Party (french: Parti du Yukon) is a conservative political party in Yukon, Canada. It is the successor to the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party. Formation With Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative federal go ...

government led by

John Ostashek John Ostashek (May 10, 1936 – June 10, 2007) was a Yukon politician. An entrepreneur, he was elected leader of the Yukon Party in June 1992 and led it to victory in the fall 1992 election in which he also won a seat in the legislature for the ...

and propped up by three independent MLAs. Penikett subsequently resigned as leader of the

and McDonald succeeded him as leader. He assumed the critic portfolios of Finance and Economic Development and served as Leader of the Official Opposition.

29th Legislative Assembly

McDonald defeated the government of John Ostashek in the election of September 30, 1996, his government elected with a large level of support in rural Yukon. McDonald's party captured 11/17 seats, then the largest majority in Yukon history, and McDonald was once again re-elected in

. He became

Premier of the Yukon The premier of Yukon is the first minister and head of government for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian territory of Yukon. The post is the territory's head of government, although its powers are considerably more limited than that ...

, then referred to as ‘Government Leader’, and assumed the responsibilities of Minister of Finance and Minister of the Executive Council. During his premiership, McDonald's government oversaw significant restructuring of the Yukon's governance. The Umbrella Final Agreement, jointly established through the mandates of Penikett and Ostashek, began to usher in final land claims negotiations for many Yukon First Nations. With the federal government, a devolution accord on the Transfer of Lands and Resource Management to the Yukon was negotiated (ultimately implemented in 2003). McDonald also emphasized intergovernmental and circumpolar relations, established new territorial parks and community schools, and created new government strategies for restorative justice, protected areas, trade and investment, forestry, and energy. While his government left a $60 million budget surplus and earned a good reputation for promoting social programs and protecting the environment, the Yukon had suffered from a decline in the territory's economy due to a fall in world metal prices and the closure of several mines. This became a major campaign issue in the 2000 general election, along with a resulting mass exodus of nearly one-in-ten people from the Yukon. Ultimately, these economic hardships fueled the rise of the

Pat Duncan Pat Duncan (born April 8, 1960) is a Canadian politician from Yukon. Duncan served as leader of the Yukon Liberal Party from 1998 to 2005 and as the sixth premier of Yukon from 2000 until 2002. Duncan was the first Liberal premier of the Yukon ...

Liberals and in the 2000 general election, McDonald's NDP government was defeated and McDonald himself lost his own seat of

. NDP support had largely held in rural Yukon, but it was the Liberals' sweep of the territory's Whitehorse ridings that ensured the NDP's defeat. McDonald resigned as party leader on April 27, 2000.

Post political activities

Since leaving territorial politics, McDonald has developed a career as a businessman and management consultant. He became one of the founding members of Northern Vision Development in 2004 and served as its chief executive officer until 2009. Northern Vision Development is one of the Yukon's most extensive commercial and real estate investors and has focused on project management, property revitalization, commercial real estate, and hospitality services in the Yukon. McDonald continues to serve as chair of its board of directors. He was named the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce's Businessperson of the Year in 2007. Shortly after his exit from politics, McDonald was appointed the volunteer president of the 2007

Canada Winter Games Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by total ...

Host Society for the upcoming Whitehorse event – the first held north of the 60th parallel. McDonald focused on using the Games to promote a vision of pan-northernism and collaboration and he successfully oversaw the modernization of much of Whitehorse's sports infrastructure. McDonald continues to serve on the Canada Games Council as its vice-president. He was named the Yukon Commissioner's Volunteer of the Year in 2007 in recognition for his volunteerism and leadership of the Canada Winter Games. In September 2008, McDonald was appointed to the Board of Directors of

Northwestel Northwestel Inc. (stylized as NorthwesTel) is a Canadian telecommunications company that is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) and long-distance carrier in the territories of Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Originally est ...

, the communications company providing service to the Yukon, the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

and

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

. He also served as chair of the Yukon Energy Corporation's board of directors and governance from 2009 to 2014. Following the tenth anniversary of the creation of Nunavut, McDonald led a review of the

Government of Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'', w ...

. The ‘’Government of Nunavut Report Card’’ compiled and analysed the opinions of 2,100

Nunavummiut This is a list of notable people who are from Nunavut, Canada, or have spent a large part or formative part of their life in that territory. A * Eva Aariak, former Premier of Nunavut * Susan Aglukark, singer-songwriter * Leona Aglukkaq, MP, M ...

and produced 93 recommendations on how the Government of Nunavut could improve its services and operations. Focus included land claims, decentralization of government, housing, education, and economic development. In September 2016, McDonald was appointed as chancellor of

. He was succeeded by Jemena James Allen, on October 6, 2020.

Honours

In 2008, in recognition for McDonald’s volunteerism and pan-northern focus in leading the 2007 Canada Winter Games, as well as his ongoing role in Northern economic development and a lifetime of service to the Yukon, McDonald was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. He is one of only four Yukoners to be appointed Officer of the Order. In June 2011, Queen's University presented McDonald with an honorary

Doctorate of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

, in recognition of McDonald's work in education, aboriginal land claims and devolution during his political career in Yukon. He is also credited for spearheading construction of Yukon College's Whitehorse campus, the Yukon Arts Centre, the South Klondike Highway, and schools in Dawson City, Old Crow and Watson Lake.

Electoral record

2000 general election

, - , Liberal ,

Wayne Jim Wayne Jim (February 24, 1961-November 28, 2018) was a Canadian politician who represented the electoral district of McIntyre-Takhini in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from April 2000 to November 2002. Jim was elected as a member of the Yukon ...

, align="right", 376 , align="right", 37.9% , align="right", +17.7% ,

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National ...

, Piers McDonald , align="right", 338 , align="right", 34.1% , align="right", -14.9% , - ! align=left colspan=3, Total ! align= 991 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

1996 general election

, - ,

, Piers McDonald , align="right", 441 , align="right", 49.0% , align="right", +6.3% , - , - , Liberal , Rosemary Couch , align="right", 182 , align="right", 20.2% , align="right", +3.9% , - ,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

, Clinton Fraser , align="right", 21 , align="right", 2.3% , align="right", +2.3% , - ! align=left colspan=3, Total ! align= 900 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

1992 general election

, - ,

, Piers McDonald , align="right", 313 , align="right", 42.7% , align="right", – , Liberal , Larry Bill , align="right", 126 , align="right", 16.3% , align="right", – , - ! align=left colspan=3, Total ! align= 733 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

1989 general election

, - ,

, Piers McDonald , align="right", 210 , align="right", 62.3% , align="right", +6.9% , - , - , Liberal , Wilf Tuck , align="right", 34 , align="right", 10.1% , align="right", +6.1% , - ! align left colspan=3, Total ! align= 337 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

1985 general election

, - ,

, Piers McDonald , align="right", 251 , align="right", 55.4% , align="right", +3.1% , - , - , Liberal , Rob Andison , align="right", 18 , align="right", 4.0% , align="right", -4.0% , - ! align left colspan=3, Total ! align= 453 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

1982 general election

, - ,

, Piers McDonald , align="right", 230 , align="right", 52.3% , align="right", +29.1% , - , - , Liberal , Eleanor Van Bibber , align="right", 35 , align="right", 8.0% , align="right", -16.0% , - ! align left colspan=3, Total ! align= 440 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Piers 1955 births Living people Premiers of Yukon Yukon New Democratic Party leaders Canadian trade unionists Canadian miners Officers of the Order of Canada People from Kingston, Ontario Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent Politicians from Whitehorse Canadian university and college chancellors Members of the Executive Council of Yukon