Donald Arthur Scott (born August 5, 1948) is a former

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada. He was the

New Democratic Party of Manitoba The New Democratic Party of Manitoba (Manitoba NDP; ), branded as Manitoba's NDP, is a social democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba ...

(NDP) member of the

Manitoba legislature The Manitoba Legislature is the legislature of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the lieutenant governor of Manitoba, lieutenant governor (representing the King of Canada) and the unicameral assemb ...

from 1981 to 1988. The son of Donald Alexander Scott and Mary Enid, he was raised in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, and attended a number of higher-learning institutions, including

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Fran ...

in Antigonish, Nova Scotia,

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

and the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

. He worked as a financial-government analyst, and at one stage worked for the

Auditor General of Canada The Auditor General of Canada (French: La vérificatrice générale du Canada) is a Supreme audit institution which acts as an officer to the Parliament of Canada tasked with highlighting accountability and oversight by conducting independent f ...

. Scott also held membership in a number of environmentally-oriented groups, including the ''Naturalists Society'' and the ''Solar Energy Society of Canada''. Scott was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the Manitoba general election of 1981, in the riding of Inkster. This particular riding was notable for having been held by Sidney Green, a prominent cabinet minister in the government of NDP

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Edward Schreyer Edward Richard Schreyer (born December 21, 1935) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as the 22nd governor general of Canada from 1979 to 1984. He previously served as the 16th premier of Manitoba from 1969 to 1977. Schr ...

, since 1966. Green had left the NDP in 1979, and was seeking re-election as a member of the

Progressive Party of Manitoba The Progressive Party of Manitoba, Canada, was a political party in Manitoba between 1920 and 1932, which was the year of its dissolution. It developed from the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM), an agrarian movement that became politically activ ...

. At first, the NDP wanted Roland Penner to challenge Green; Scott, a relative unknown, was drafted only after Penner declined. Nevertheless, he was elected in Inkster with a clear majority, receiving 6283 votes, as Green placed third with only 783. Following this election, the Progressive Party was no longer taken seriously as a political force. Scott was re-elected without difficulty in the provincial election of 1986, defeating his nearest competitor by almost 4000 votes. In the 1988 election, however, he was upset by Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Kevin Lamoureux (born January 22, 1962) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. On November 29, 2010, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada for the constituency of Winnipeg North in a by-election. He was re-elected during the 2011 ele ...

, who outpolled him by 4466 votes to 4098. The 1988 election was called after NDP backbencher

Jim Walding Derek James Walding (May 9, 1937 – April 23, 2007) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1971 to 1988 and served as speaker of the assembly from 1982 to 1986. Walding was a member o ...

voted against his own party's budget, causing the government to fall two years before an election would normally have been called. Scott was one of several NDP members defeated in the following campaign; his loss in a seat previously regarded as safe for the party came as a particular surprise.Scott had previously fended off a nomination challenge from Michael Balagus, winning by 102 votes to 26. See "Ousted MLA joins leadership contest", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 27 March 1988, A1. Scott later moved to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. Following the Manitoba election of 2003, he wrote an op-ed piece for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

, acknowledging the centrist approach of

Gary Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States, ambassador to the United States from 19 Octo ...

's government while also encouraging it to invest more in social programs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Don 1948 births Living people Canadian people of Scottish descent New Democratic Party of Manitoba MLAs Carleton University alumni People from Queens County, Nova Scotia Politicians from Winnipeg 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba