Neil J. LeBlanc (born August 8, 1956) is a former politician in Nova Scotia,

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Early life and education

He was born in Wedgeport,

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 ...

to Gladys (Bourque) and Alfred LeBlanc. He graduated from Saint Mary’s University and then for the chartered accounting firm of Peat, Marwick and Mitchell (now

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Political career

He entered politics in 1984, when he 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 ...

as a Progressive Conservative for the riding of Argyle. LeBlanc after his second election victory in 1988, was named Solicitor General, becoming one of Nova Scotia’s youngest Cabinet Ministers. In the 1990s, LeBlanc also served as Minister responsible for the Nova Scotia Sport and Recreation Commission and Minister of Government Services. He lost his seat during the Liberal sweep of

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, and returned home to establish N. LeBlanc Enterprises Ltd., a fish and lobster wholesale company. LeBlanc made a successful return to politics in the 1998 election, winning back the seat he lost, five years earlier. Following the election, he was named as the Progressive Conservative House Leader. He was re-elected in the 1999 election, that saw the Progressive Conservatives under

John Hamm John Frederick Hamm (born April 8, 1938) is a Canadian physician and politician, who served as the 25th premier of Nova Scotia from 1999 to 2006. Education Hamm, a graduate of the University of King's College and Dalhousie University, was a ...

form a majority government. He 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 Finance, Minister of Business and Consumer Services, as well as Minister of Acadian Affairs. Along with his cabinet duties, he was also named the minister responsible for Nova Scotia Resources Ltd., Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation, Halifax/Dartmouth Bridge Commission; and President de l’Association des Parlementaire Francais. In 2002, LeBlanc introduced Nova Scotia’s first balanced budget in 40 years. In 2003, LeBlanc retired after 14 years as an MLA and eight and a half years as a cabinet minister, to return to Wedgeport to spend more time with his family and to briefly assume duties as Chief Administrative Officer of the Municipality of the District of Argyle.

Leadership candidacy

In 2005, LeBlanc announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia. Originally considered a front-runner, LeBlanc finished last on the first ballot, 59 votes behind the leader,

Rodney MacDonald Rodney Joseph MacDonald (born January 2, 1972) is a Canadian politician, educator and musician who served as the 26th premier of Nova Scotia from 2006 to 2009 and as MLA for the riding of Inverness (provincial electoral district), Inverness in ...

, and 12 behind second place finisher,

Bill Black William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill ...

. Dropped from the second ballot, LeBlanc endorsed MacDonald, who defeated Black on the decisive ballot.

After politics

On July 13, 2006, LeBlanc was named as

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to Boston replacing Stan Keyes. Following the Progressive Conservative defeat to the New Democratic Party in the 2009 election and the subsequent resignation of Progressive Conservative leader Rodney MacDonald, LeBlanc was touted as a possible contender to replace MacDonald.LeBlanc possible PC leader. The Chronicle Herald

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leblanc, Neil 1956 births Consuls for Canada Canadian people of Acadian descent Living people Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia People from Yarmouth County Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia MLAs Canadian city managers and chief administrative officers 20th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly Ministers of finance of Nova Scotia 21st-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly