Chester Joseph Melanson (born June 26, 1940) is a Canadian politician. He represented the

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

of Clare 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 1981 to 1984 as 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 Zach ...

. Melanson was born in 1940 at Meteghan Centre,

Digby County Digby County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. History It was named after the Township of Digby; this was named in honour of Rear Admiral Robert Digby, who dispatched HMS ''Atalanta'' to convey Loyalists from New York City 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 Eng ...

. A graduate of the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

, Melanson was an athletic director. He entered provincial politics in the 1981 election, defeating Progressive Conservative

Guy LeBlanc Guy LeBlanc (October 16, 1960 – April 27, 2015) was a Canadian keyboardist and composer. He led his own progressive-rock band - Nathan Mahl, and was a member of the British progressive band Camel from 2000 to 2015. He produced and released hi ...

by 55 votes in the Clare riding. Melanson was defeated by LeBlanc when he ran for re-election in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

. In October 2008, Melanson was awarded the

Order of La Pléiade The Order of La Pléiade (; ) is an honorary order of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. It recognizes people who particularly distinguished themselves in the service of its ideals of cooperation and friendship, promoting the rol ...

, which was given to honour Acadian and Francophone community leaders, and Members of the Legislative Assembly.

References

1940 births Living people Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs People from Digby County, Nova Scotia University of New Brunswick alumni {{Liberal-NovaScotia-MLA-stub