Russell Francis MacNeil (February 24, 1931 – June 16, 2018) was a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of

Cape Breton Centre Cape Breton Centre-Whitney Pier, formerly Cape Breton Centre is a provincial electoral district in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Its Member of the Legislative Assembly is Kendra Co ...

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 1989 to 1998. He was a member of the

Nova Scotia Liberal Party The Nova Scotia Liberal Party is a centrist provincial political party in Nova Scotia, Canada and the provincial section of the Liberal Party of Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Nova Scotia, under the leadership of Za ...

Early life and career

MacNeil was born in 1931 at

New Waterford, Nova Scotia New Waterford (Irish language: ''Port Lairge Ùr'') is an urban community in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia, Canada. Geography Formerly known as Barrachois (from barachois, meaning small port, lagoon or pond), its present n ...

. He graduated from

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. Fra ...

with an arts degree in 1953, and an education degree in 1954. Following graduation, MacNeil was a physical education teacher in New Waterford, and later served as the recreation director for the province of Nova Scotia.

Political career

MacNeil entered provincial politics in 1989, running as the Liberal candidate in a Cape Breton Centre by-election. Defeated by seven votes on election night, the number was reduced to two when official results were announced. However, a judicial recount in September ended with MacNeil being declared the winner by three votes. His Progressive Conservative opponent appealed to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, and in February 1990, the by-election was declared invalid and MacNeil's victory voided. A second by-election was held on August 28, 1990, with MacNeil winning the seat. He was re-elected in the 1993 election, and served as a backbench member of John Savage's government. MacNeil did not seek re-election in 1998. MacNeil died on June 16, 2018, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

References

1931 births 2018 deaths Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs People from New Waterford, Nova Scotia St. Francis Xavier University alumni {{Liberal-NovaScotia-MLA-stub