Michael Alan Ballantyne (February 27, 1945 – June 19, 2008) was a Canadian politician and humanitarian. He was a city councillor for

Yellowknife City Council The Yellowknife City Council is the governing body of the city of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. The council consists of a mayor and eight councillors A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in som ...

from 1978 and in 1979 became mayor until his resignation in 1983. He served as a Member and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from 1983 to 1995. Ballantyne was elected to the Northwest Territories Legislature in the

1983 Northwest Territories general election The 1983 Northwest Territories general election was held on November 21, 1983. This was the first election in the Northwest Territories with live television coverage of vote returns. Election Results The election was held in 24 constituencies, up ...

, winning the

Yellowknife North Yellowknife North is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is one of seven districts that represent Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and ...

electoral district. He was re-elected to a second term in the 1987 Northwest Territories general election. He was re-elected to his third and final term in the 1991 Northwest Territories general election. Ballantyne was elected Speaker of the Assembly on November 13, 1991 and served in that position until November 10, 1993. He retired at the end of his term when the Legislature dissolved in 1995. Ballantyne was a seasoned traveler and humanitarian, working with Save the Children in both Vietnam and Cambodia during the Vietnam war. Ballantyne quit

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...

in Ottawa to register black voters in Mississippi and Alabama and was active in the civil rights movement. Ballantyne died on June 19, 2008.

External links

Northwest Territories speakers 1975 to presentGlobe and Mail obituary
1945 births 2008 deaths Mayors of Yellowknife Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories {{NorthwestTerritories-mayor-stub