Gordon Balser (born February 24, 1954) is a former educator and politician 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 ...

, Canada. He represented

Digby-Annapolis Digby—Annapolis is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada which existed between 1993 and 2013 and since 2021. It elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. The electoral district includes the Municipality of th ...

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 1998 to 2003 as a Progressive Conservative member.

Early life

He was born in

Digby, Nova Scotia Digby is an incorporated town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is in the historical Digby County, Nova Scotia, county of Digby and a separate municipality from the Municipality of the District of Digby. The town is situated on the western s ...

, the son of George Balser and Seddie Crosby, and was educated at

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

. Balser was a teacher, teaching principal and acting superintendent of schools for the Digby district.

Political career

Balser entered provincial politics in the 1998 election, defeating Liberal John Drish by 233 votes in the Digby-Annapolis riding. He was re-elected in the 1999 election by over 2,200 votes. In August 1999, he 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 Economic Development and Minister of Transportation and Public Works. In December 1999, the Transportation and Public Works portfolio was transferred to

Ron Russell Ronald Stanley Thornton Russell (22 July 1926 – 7 March 2019) was a Canadian politician and pilot who lived in Nova Scotia. Early life and education Russell was born in Ngongotahā, New Zealand. He was a pilot for the Royal New Zealand Air F ...

. In June 2002, Balser was shuffled to Minister of Energy. On December 19, 2002, premier

John Hamm John Frederick Hamm (born April 8, 1938) is a Canadian physician and politician, who served as the 25th premier of Nova Scotia from 1999 to 2006. Education Hamm, a graduate of the University of King's College and Dalhousie University, was a fa ...

shuffled his cabinet, moving Balser to Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, and Minister of the Public Service Commission. In the 2003 election, Balser was defeated by Liberal

Harold Theriault Harold Elwood 'Junior' Theriault (born January 1953) is a former Canadian politician and member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, who represented the riding of Digby-Annapolis for the Nova Scotia Liberal Party from 2003 to 2013. Early life ...

Personal life

In 1981, he married Wendy Suzanne Moore. His daughter

Jill Balser Jill S. Balser is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2021 Nova Scotia general election. She represents the riding of Digby-Annapolis as a member of the Progressive Conservative Association of Nova S ...

was elected to the legislature to represent Digby-Annapolis in the 2021 Nova Scotia general election.Tina Comeau
"PC candidate Jill Balser follows in dad's footsteps with Digby-Annapolis election win"

SaltWire Network SaltWire Network Inc. is a Canadian newspaper publishing company owned by the Dennis-Lever family of Halifax, Nova Scotia, owners of ''The Chronicle Herald''. Saltwire owns 23 daily and weekly newspapers in Atlantic Canada.

, August 18, 2021.

References

Lumley, E ''Canadian Who's Who 2003''
1954 births Acadia University alumni Living people Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia People from Digby County, Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia MLAs 21st-century Canadian politicians {{ProgressiveConservative-NovaScotia-MLA-stub