Michel P. Samson (born 1972) 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 represented the electoral district of

Cape Breton-Richmond Richmond is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Replacing the former district of Richmond-Cape Breton West, it was created in 1933 when the counties of Cape Breton ...

, formerly

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

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 2017. He was 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 ...

. Samson attended Isle Madame District High School and graduated with a B.A. from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

in 1994 and a LL.B. from

Dalhousie Law School The Schulich School of Law is the law school of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1883 as Dalhousie Law School, it is the oldest university-based common law school in Canada. It adopted its current name in October ...

in 1997. Samson articled with the Halifax law firm of Blois, Nickerson & Bryson and he was admitted to the Nova Scotia in 1998 before working as an associate at the

Port Hawkesbury Port Hawkesbury (Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Chlamhain'') is a municipality in southern Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. While within the historical county of Inverness, it is not part of the Municipality of Inverness County. Their sl ...

law firm of Macdonald, Boudrot & Doucet.

Political career

In 1998 Samson successfully ran for the

nomination in the riding of

. He was elected in the 1998 provincial election. In December 1998, Samson 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 ...

where he served as Minister of the Environment as well as Minister responsible for administration of the Youth Secretariat Act. At the time, he was the youngest person ever to be appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. Samson was re-elected in the

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, and 2013 provincial elections. Samson served as interim leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party from 2006-2007 following the resignation of

Francis MacKenzie Francis MacKenzie (born May 7, 1960) is a former leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. He won the leadership for the party on October 23, 2004. Early life Following graduation from St. Francis Xavier University in 1982, MacKenzie worked in On ...

until

Stephen McNeil Stephen McNeil (born November 10, 1964) is a Canadian politician who served as the 28th premier of Nova Scotia, from 2013 to 2021. He also represented the riding of Annapolis in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2003 to 2021 and was the ...

was elected leader; Samson having decided not to pursue the leadership. On 22 October 2013, Samson was appointed to the

to serve as Minister of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism as well as Minister of Acadian Affairs. In March 2015, Samson was sworn-in as Minister of Energy following the resignation from cabinet of Andrew Younger. In the 2017 election, Samson was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate

Alana Paon Alana Paon (born June 26, 1971) is a Canadian politician. She was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2017 provincial election representing the electoral district of Cape Breton-Richmond. She was a member of the Progressive Cons ...

Electoral record

, - ,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

, Michel Samson , align="right", 4369 , align="right", 56.51 , align="right", , - , Progressive Conservative , Joe Janega , align="right", 1696 , align="right", 21.93 , 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 ...

, Bert Lewis , align="right", 1667 , align="right", 21.56 , align="right", , - , - ,

, Clair Rankin , align="right", 1477 , align="right", 25.31 , align="right", +15.88 , - , Progressive Conservative , John Greene , align="right", 1045 , align="right", 17.91 , align="right", -22.65 , - , - ,

, Michel Samson , align="right", 2722 , align="right", 48.55 , align="right", , - , Progressive Conservative , John Greene , align="right", 2268 , align="right", 40.56 , align="right", , - ,

, Mary Pat Cude , align="right", 529 , align="right", 9.43 , align="right", , - , - ,

, Michel Samson , align="right", 3047 , align="right", 51.36 , align="right", , - , Progressive Conservative , Richie Cotton , align="right", 1850 , align="right", 31.18 , align="right", , - ,

, Clair Rankin , align="right", 1036 , align="right", 17.46 , align="right", , - ,

, Michel Samson , align="right", 3105 , align="right", , align="right", , - , Progressive Conservative , Joseph MacPhee , align="right", 1905 , align="right", , align="right", , - ,

, Wilma Conrod , align="right", 1595 , align="right", , align="right", , - , - , Progressive Conservative , Joseph MacPhee , align="right", 1,905 , align="right", , align="right", , - ,

, Wilma Conrod , align="right", 1,595 , align="right", , align="right",

References

External links

Members of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly

Liberal caucus profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samson, Michel 1972 births Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs Schulich School of Law alumni Politicians of Acadian descent Living people Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia People from Richmond County, Nova Scotia 21st-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly Nova Scotia political party leaders 20th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly