Peter MacKay facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Honourable Peter MacKay PC KC
MacKay in 2014
Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada
In office July 15, 2013 – November 4, 2015
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Rob Nicholson
Succeeded by	Jody Wilson-Raybould
Minister of National Defence
In office August 14, 2007 – July 15, 2013
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Gordon O'Connor
Succeeded by	Rob Nicholson
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office February 6, 2006 – August 14, 2007
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Pierre Pettigrew
Succeeded by	Maxime Bernier
Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
In office February 6, 2006 – January 19, 2010
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Joe McGuire
Succeeded by	Keith Ashfield
Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party
In office March 22, 2004 – November 5, 2015
Leader	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Denis Lebel
Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party
In office May 31, 2003 – December 7, 2003
Preceded by	Joe Clark
Succeeded by	John Lynch-Staunton (as interim leader)
Member of Parliament for Central Nova (Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough; 1997–2004)
In office June 2, 1997 – October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Roseanne Skoke
Succeeded by	Sean Fraser
Personal details
Born	Peter Gordon MacKay (1965-09-27) September 27, 1965 (age 59) New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political party	Conservative (since 2003)
Other political affiliations	Progressive Conservative (1997–2003)
Spouse	Nazanin Afshin-Jam ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	3
Parents	Elmer MacKay (father) Macha MacKay (mother)
Residences	Pictou County, Nova Scotia
Alma mater	Acadia University (transferred) Carleton University (B.A.) Dalhousie University (LL.B.)
Occupation	Politician Crown attorney lawyer diplomat

Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015. During this time, he held important roles in the Canadian government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General (2013–2015), Minister of National Defence (2007–2013), and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2006–2007).

MacKay was the last leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. In 2003, he helped merge this party with Stephen Harper's Canadian Alliance. This created the Conservative Party of Canada, which is one of the main political parties in Canada today.

Peter MacKay is the son of Elmer MacKay, who was also a Canadian politician. Peter studied at Acadia University and Dalhousie University, where he earned his law degree. He represented areas in Nova Scotia in Parliament, first Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough (1997–2004) and then Central Nova (2004–2015). In 2015, he decided not to run for re-election. After leaving politics, he worked as a lawyer and advisor. In 2020, he ran to become the leader of the Conservative Party but was not chosen.

Early Life and Education

Peter MacKay was born in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. His father, Elmer MacKay, was a politician and lawyer. His mother, Eirene Macha MacKay, was a psychologist. Peter grew up in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, with his three siblings.

He went to Horton High School in Greenwich, Nova Scotia. After high school, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Acadia University and Carleton University in 1987. He then studied law at Dalhousie University and became a lawyer in Nova Scotia in 1991. Before entering politics, he worked for a steel company in Halifax and Germany.

In 1993, MacKay became a Crown Attorney in Nova Scotia. This meant he worked as a prosecutor, handling cases in various courts. He has said that his experiences with the justice system made him want to enter politics. He felt that the courts needed to pay more attention to how crimes affected victims.

Becoming a Member of Parliament

Peter MacKay was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada on June 2, 1997. He represented the area of Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough in Nova Scotia. He was one of several younger members of the Progressive Conservative Party elected at that time. People saw them as future leaders who could help the party grow stronger.

In his first term, MacKay focused on justice issues and served as the House Leader for his party. This meant he helped manage the party's work in Parliament. He was also part of committees that looked at justice and human rights.

He was re-elected in 2000. Many people in the media thought he might become the next leader of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Leading the Progressive Conservative Party

In 2003, the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, Joe Clark, announced he would step down. Peter MacKay decided to run for the leadership. He was seen as a strong candidate from the start.

MacKay's main goal was to bring together the different conservative groups in Canada. He believed that by uniting, conservatives could become stronger. He was considered a "Red Tory," which means he held some socially liberal views while being fiscally conservative. For example, he voted in favour of same-sex marriage in 2006.

At the leadership meeting on May 31, 2003, MacKay had the most support on the first ballot. However, he needed more votes to win. He made an agreement with another candidate, David Orchard, who then asked his supporters to vote for MacKay. This agreement helped MacKay win the leadership on the final ballot with nearly 65% of the votes.

The agreement with David Orchard caused some debate. It included promises about reviewing trade policies and not merging with the Canadian Alliance party. However, the idea of uniting conservative parties was still being discussed.

Forming the Conservative Party

Many people believed that the two main conservative parties, the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance, needed to join forces to win elections. On October 15, 2003, Peter MacKay and Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper signed an agreement. This agreement led to the creation of the new Conservative Party of Canada.

MacKay worked hard to convince his party members to support the merger. In a vote on December 6, 2003, 90.4% of the Progressive Conservative delegates agreed to the deal. Some members of Parliament from the Progressive Conservative Party did not agree with the merger and left the new party.

In January 2004, MacKay announced he would not run for the leadership of the new Conservative Party. Instead, he became the Deputy Leader of the party under Stephen Harper. He was re-elected as a Member of Parliament in the 2004 federal election for the riding of Central Nova.

MacKay arrives at Rideau Hall for the swearing in of the new government after the 2006 Canadian election.

Serving in Government

In January 2006, the Conservative Party won the federal election and formed a minority government. Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Peter MacKay to important roles.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

From 2006 to 2007, MacKay served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was also the Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, helping with economic development in Atlantic Canada.

One of his biggest challenges as Foreign Affairs Minister was the conflict between Lebanon, Israel, and Hezbollah in July 2006. The Canadian government worked to help thousands of Canadians leave Lebanon safely. MacKay supported Israel during this conflict and called Hezbollah a "cancer" in Lebanon. Canada officially recognizes Hezbollah as a terrorist group.

MacKay as Minister of Foreign Affairs, speaking with his Brazilian counterpart, Celso Amorim, February 2007.

Minister of National Defence

On August 14, 2007, MacKay became the Minister of National Defence. In this role, he was responsible for Canada's military. In November 2007, he was at a military base in Afghanistan when it was hit by rockets. He was not harmed.

In 2008, MacKay announced a plan to spend a lot of money to upgrade the Canadian military's equipment over 25 years. This was a big plan to improve Canada's defence capabilities.

MacKay inspects a new Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone with members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, May 2011.

In 2010, there was some discussion about MacKay using a military helicopter to travel from a fishing camp. He explained that he also used the helicopter for a search and rescue demonstration.

MacKay with his American counterpart, Leon Panetta, during a meeting with defence ministers from Canada, Mexico, and the United States, March 2012.

Minister of Justice and Attorney General

On July 15, 2013, MacKay became the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. In this role, he was the chief law officer of the Crown and advised the government on legal matters.

After Parliament

On May 29, 2015, Peter MacKay announced that he would not run in the 2015 federal election. After leaving Parliament, he joined a law firm called Baker McKenzie as a partner in February 2016. He later moved back to Nova Scotia and became a senior counsel with another law firm, McInnes Cooper, and an advisor with Deloitte Canada.

2020 Conservative Leadership Race

In January 2020, Peter MacKay announced he would run for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada again. He officially launched his campaign in Nova Scotia.

MacKay (centre-left foreground) with Andrew Scheer during the 2019 Canadian federal election campaign.

However, he was defeated by Erin O'Toole in the third round of voting. After the race, it was shared that MacKay had spent money on security because he and his family had received threats during the campaign.

Personal Life

Peter MacKay married Nazanin Afshin-Jam on January 4, 2012, in Mexico. Nazanin was born in Iran and is a former beauty queen. She also works as a human rights activist, focusing on stopping child executions in Iran.

Peter and Nazanin have two sons, Kian Alexander MacKay (born 2013) and Caledon Cyrus MacKay (born 2018). They also have one daughter, Valentia Makaja MacKay (born 2015).

In his free time, MacKay has volunteered with various groups, including Big Brothers Big Sisters and the YMCA. He is also a sports fan and played rugby, baseball, football, and hockey in his community. He played for the Nova Scotia Keltics rugby team.

Electoral Record

2020 Conservative Party of Canada leadership results by ballot

Candidate		1st ballot				2nd ballot				3rd ballot
		Votes cast	%	Points allocated	%	Votes cast	%	Points allocated	%	Votes cast	%	Points allocated	%
	Erin O'Toole	51,258	29.39%	10,681.40	31.60%	56,907	33.20%	11,903.69	35.22%	90,635	58.86%	19,271.74	57.02%
	Peter MacKay	52,851	30.30%	11,328.55	33.52%	54,165	31.60%	11,756.01	34.78%	63,356	41.14%	14,528.26	42.98%
	Leslyn Lewis	43,017	24.67%	6,925.38	20.49%	60,316	35.20%	10,140.30	30.00%	Eliminated
	Derek Sloan	27,278	15.64%	4,864.67	14.39%	Eliminated
Total		174,404	100%	33,800	100%	171,388	100%	33,800	100%	153,991	100%	33,800	100%

2003 Progressive Conservative leadership election – delegate support by ballot

Candidate		1st ballot		2nd ballot		3rd ballot		4th ballot
		Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%
	MACKAY, Peter Gordon	1,080	41.1%	1,018	39.7%	1,128	45.0%	1,538	64.8%
	PRENTICE, James (Jim)	478	18.2%	466	18.2%	761	30.4%	836	35.2%
	ORCHARD, David	640	24.3%	619	24.1%	617	24.6%	Endorsed MacKay
	BRISON, Scott A.	431	16.4%	463	18.0%	Endorsed Prentice
	CHANDLER, Craig B.	0	—	Withdrew before 1st ballot began; Endorsed Prentice
Total		2,629	100.0%	2,566	100.0%	2,506	100.0%	2,374	100.0%

See also

In Spanish: Peter MacKay para niños