Former NDP leader Alexa McDonough dead at 77

Former NDP leader Alexa McDonough has died at the age of 77 following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

McDonough was first elected as leader of the Nova Scotia NDP party in 1980 before becoming the first woman to lead a recognized political party in Canada in 1995.

After inheriting a party that had been decimated at the polls in the 1993 federal election, McDonough managed to increase the NDP’s seat count from nine to 21 seats in 1997 including historic breakthroughs in Atlantic Canada, where she captured her own riding of Halifax.

After failing to build on those gains through the next federal campaign, McDonough stepped down from the leadership of the NDP in 2003 but remained in the House of Commons until 2005 before retiring from politics.

McDonough made her mark federally as a champion of strong social programs and gender equality.

Today is a sad day for Canada.

Alexa Mcdonough was the first woman to lead a major political party in Canada.

She dedicated her life to social justice, championed women in politics, and never backed down from a challenge.

We'll miss her dearly.

Rest in power Alexa. pic.twitter.com/kcybh7DuoU

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) January 15, 2022

Her son Justin McDonough says his mother was a concensus builder who earned respect beyond partisan political lines.

“I think the one thing that I really learned from her is that you can have courageous conversations and you can disagree with someone, but it doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to be respectful and you’re not going to appreciate their opinion,” he said. “Her political life resonated in that regard.”

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston paid tribute in a statement calling McDonough an historic figure in provincial and federal politics.

“The hallmark of Ms. McDonough’s long career was her respect for the people she represented,” Houston said. “She was a public servant in the truest sense and she will be sorely missed by people across Canada.”

Known affectionately to many across the country as simply “Alexa,” McDonough was a former social worker who cut her political teeth in the Nova Scotia Liberal Party before switching to the provincial NDP in 1974.

After capturing the party’s leadership, she became the first New Democrat from mainland Nova Scotia to sit in the provincial legislature when she was elected in a Halifax area riding in 1981. She was the party’s lone voice in the legislature over the next three years.

“These are accomplishments of real historic stature,” said Gary Burrill, the current leader of the Nova Scotia NDP. “She is a big person on the landscape in the history of the province.”

Burrill said Nova Scotia New Democrats have suffered a significant loss and are a “party in mourning.”

McDonough was an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of Nova Scotia and is a past president of Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax.

She is survived by her sons, Justin and Travis, along with seven grandchildren.