Brendan Oliver Maguire (born August 29, 1975) 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 ...

politician, who was elected to 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 ...

in the 2013 provincial election. Elected as a member of the

Nova Scotia Liberal Party The Nova Scotia Liberal Party (officially the Liberal Association of Nova Scotia) is a Centrist politics, centrist provincial political party in Nova Scotia, Canada and the provincial section of the Liberal Party of Canada. The party currently hol ...

, he joined the

Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia The Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, more commonly known as the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, is a political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. Like most conservative parties in Atlantic Canada, it has been histor ...

in February 2024. He represents the electoral district of

Halifax Atlantic Halifax Atlantic is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. The Member of the Legislative Assembly since 2013 has been Brendan Maguire of the Progressive Conservative A ...

Early life

Born in

Weymouth, England Weymouth ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the Dorset district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a populatio ...

to parents from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, Maguire and his family emigrated to Canada at four years old. He and his four siblings were abandoned by their parents at the

Halifax Shopping Centre Halifax Shopping Centre, located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, is Atlantic Canada's largest multi-building shopping centre. Opened in 1962 as an enclosed mall anchored by department store Eaton's, the shopping centre is now owned ...

shortly after that. As a result, he grew up in foster care in the Halifax area and became a Canadian citizen when he was 16.John DeMont: Brendan Maguire’s amazing journey from homelessness to N.S. cabinet
Halifax Chronicle Herald Maguire graduated from college with a diploma in computer studies. He worked in telecommunications and later became a sales representative and technician at the Halifax Water Commission.

Political career

Maguire serves on the Public Accounts Committee, the Health Committee, the Law Amendments Committee and is Vice Chair of the Community Services Committee. In 2014, 2015, and 2016, Maguire was named the Best Member of the Provincial Legislature by ''The Coast'' magazine. Maguire was also named the 2015 Ambassador of the year by Family SOS. On February 23, 2021, Maguire was 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 ...

as Minister of Municipal Affairs. Maguire was re-elected in the 2021 election, however the Rankin Liberals lost government becoming the Official Opposition. On February 22, 2024, Progressive Conservative premier

Tim Houston Timothy Jerome Houston (born April 10, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 30th and current premier of Nova Scotia since 2021, and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2017. He was first elected to the Nova Sco ...

announced that Maguire had

crossed the floor In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...

to the Progressive Conservatives, and that Maguire was being appointed Community Services Minister.

Electoral record

, - , Liberal , Brendan Maguire , align="right", 3,244 , align="right", 42.54 , align="right", , - ,

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

, Tanis Crosby , align="right", 2,564 , align="right", 33.63 , align="right", , - , Progressive Conservative , Ryan Brennan , align="right", 1,817 , align="right", 23.83 , align="right",

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maguire, Brendan Living people Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia People from the Halifax Regional Municipality 1975 births English emigrants to Canada Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia MLAs 21st-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly