Bruce Cochran (1 December 1919 – 24 January 1984) was a Canadian businessman, publisher, and politician. He represented the electoral district of

Lunenburg Centre Lunenburg is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. From 1867 to 1956, the district included all of Lunenburg County.

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 of the province of Nova Scotia ...

from 1974 to 1983. He was a member of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia The Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia (formerly Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia), is a moderate political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. Like most conservative parties in Atlantic Canada, it has been historically as ...

Early life and education

Born in

Mahone Bay Mahone Bay is a bay on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada along the eastern end of Lunenburg County. The bay has many islands, and is a popular sailing area. Since 2003 the Mahone Islands Conservation Association has been working to prot ...

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 Eng ...

, Cochran studied at the

University of King's College The University of King's College, established in 1789, is in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and Nova Scotian Higher Education in the Nineteenth Century." Anglic ...

, and graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor's degree in Commerce (B.Com.).

Career

Cochran served the Canadian military as a member of the West Nova Scotia Regiment throughout the duration of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

(1939–1945) rising to the rank of captain. He married Maxine Elizabeth Bishop in 1951. They had one son, Andrew Bruce Bishop Cochran, born in 1952. In 1960, he founded his own public relations consulting company, Bruce Cochran Associates. and later became publisher of The Dartmouth Free Press. Cochran entered provincial politics in the 1974 election, defeating Liberal James Kinley by 208 votes in Lunenburg Centre. He was re-elected in the 1978, and 1981 elections. On 5 October 1978, Cochran 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 sim ...

as Minister of Consumer Affairs, Minister responsible for Housing (1978), and Minister responsible for Communications and Information (1978). In June 1979, he was appointed Minister of Tourism and served in that position for the rest of time in public office. He also was briefly Minister of Culture, Recreation and Fitness (1979).

Death

In November 1983, Cochran resigned from his government duties, citing health reasons, and died in the United States ( Rye, NY) in January 1984. His wife,

Maxine Cochran Maxine Cochran (August 5, 1926 – July 8, 2014) was a Canadian politician. She represented the electoral district of Lunenburg Centre in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de ...

succeeded him as MLA and went on to become Nova Scotia's first female cabinet minister.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cochran, Bruce 1919 births 1984 deaths Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia Dalhousie University alumni People from Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia University of King's College alumni