Russell Vincent MacKinnon (born October 4, 1953) is a Canadian politician in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

. He represented Cape Breton West in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia Each General Assembly of the ...

from 1988 to 1995 and then from 1998 to 2006 as a Liberal and then Independent member.

Early life and education

He was born in Grand Mira South, Nova Scotia, the son of Neil Helarius MacKinnon and was educated at the Nova Scotia Land Survey Institute.

Political career

First elected in the

1988 Nova Scotia general election The 1988 Nova Scotia general election was held on September 6, 1988 to elect members of the 55th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservative party. John Dunsworth, who would later gain fa ...

, MacKinnon later served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Labour when the Liberal took power. In 1994, MacKinnon was suspended from the Liberal caucus for refusing to vote in favor of the government's municipal services exchange bill. MacKinnon sat as an independent until he resigned his seat on April 10, 1995, to make an unsuccessful bid to become mayor of the

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Cape Breton Regional Municipality (often referred to as simply "CBRM") is the Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2016 the municipality has a population of 94,285. The ...

. He was reelected in 1998. He sat as an independent from April 2005 and did not run for reelection in 2006, when he was defeated in a bid to win the Progressive Conservative nomination in Cape Breton West.

Criminal charges

On February 14, 2011, it was announced that MacKinnon was among four people facing criminal charges in connection with the RCMP investigation into 2010s MLA expense scandal. MacKinnon was charged with fraud exceeding $5,000, breach of trust by a public officer, and 8 counts of uttering a forged document. On May 3, 2012, MacKinnon pleaded not guilty and went to trial on the charges in March 2013. On March 15, 2013, MacKinnon stopped testifying at his trial and pleaded guilty to breach of trust, and was sentenced to an eight-month conditional sentence.

Personal life

In 1973, he married Gail Ann MacGillivary. He is currently married to Michèle Raymond, who is the former New Democratic Party MLA for

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 Nova Scotia Liberal Party. ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackinnon, Russell 1953 births Living people Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs Nova Scotia Independent MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia 21st-century Canadian politicians