Nancy MacBeth ( Elliott; born December 29, 1948) 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 the leader of the

Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party () is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest active political party in Alberta and was the dominant political party until the 1921 election, with the first three provincial ...

and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

from 1998 to 2001. She was the first female opposition leader in the province's history.

Early life

Born in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Alberta, MacBeth received a Bachelor of Arts at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, in French and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

; studying

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

, studying

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

literature. She subsequently worked as an executive assistant for several Alberta cabinet ministers.

Early political career

MacBeth, then known as Nancy Betkowski, first entered electoral politics as an

Alberta Progressive Conservative Party The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, often referred to as the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta, was a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta that existed from 1905 to 2020. The party formed the ...

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

(MLA) for the riding of

Edmonton-Glenora Edmonton-Glenora is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. It is located north of the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton. The electoral district, as defined by the ''Electoral Divisions Act, 2003,'' ...

from 1986 to 1993 in the government of

Don Getty Donald Ross Getty (August 30, 1933 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian athlete, businessman, and politician who served as the 11th premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. Before entering politics, Getty had been a quarterback for the Edmon ...

. She was Minister of Education from 1986 to 1988, and was then appointed Minister of Health, serving in that position until 1992. She then ran as a candidate in the party's 1992 leadership convention against

Ralph Klein Ralph Philip Klein (November 1, 1942 – March 29, 2013) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 12th premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 2 ...

. Regarded by the membership as a

Red Tory A Red Tory is an adherent of a Centre-right politics, centre-right or Paternalistic conservatism, paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition. It is most predominant in Canada; however, it is also found in the ...

, Betkowski became the preferred candidate of the party establishment. However, Klein's

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

appeal won him the leadership, and Betkowski did not stand as a candidate in the 1993 election.

Liberal leader

She subsequently married portfolio manager and financial writer Hilliard MacBeth. She then returned to politics in 1998, running for the leadership of the Alberta Liberals after the resignation of Grant Mitchell. Elected to be the MLA for

Edmonton-McClung Edmonton-McClung is a provincial electoral district in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The district was created in 1993 and is named after Nellie McClung. The current MLA is Lorne Dach of the NDP, who was first elected in 2015. History The elec ...

, MacBeth tried to capitalize on discontent with Klein's government in some Alberta communities by reaching out to disaffected Red Tories, but proved unable to connect with voters. In the 2001 provincial election, the Liberals won only seven seats, less than half as many as they had held before the election. Among the losses was MacBeth's own seat of Edmonton-McClung. The election left the party a million dollar debt that took about 10 years to pay off. She left politics again, and was succeeded by Ken Nicol as party leader.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macbeth, Nancy 1948 births Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Female Canadian political party leaders Leaders of the Alberta Liberal Party Living people Members of the Executive Council of Alberta Politicians from Edmonton Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs Women MLAs in Alberta Women government ministers of Canada Women opposition leaders 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 21st-century Canadian women politicians