Michael George McKee (born March 22, 1940) is a lawyer, judge, former

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest, and former political figure in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) 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. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada. He represented

Moncton North Moncton North (french: Moncton-Nord) was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Oce ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

from 1974 to 1993 as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member.

Early years and priesthood

He was born in

Bouctouche, New Brunswick Bouctouche is a Canadian town in Kent County, New Brunswick, Kent County, New Brunswick. History Bouctouche was originally named Tjipogtotjg (pronounced ''Chebooktoosk''), a Mi'kmaq word meaning "Great Little Harbour". The region was next set ...

, the son of Killeen McKee and Juliette Michaud, and was educated at St. Thomas University, Holy Heart Seminary and 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 ...

. McKee was a parish priest for five years in

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

and was chaplain for the

Dorchester Penitentiary The Dorchester Penitentiary ( French: Pénitencier de Dorchester) is a Canadian federal corrections facility located in the village of Dorchester, New Brunswick. It shares a property with Westmorland Institution and Shepody Healing Centre. ...

for four years. He left the priesthood and married Winnifred Anne Shaw in 1982.

Politics

McKee was elected as a

MLA for

in 1974 served in opposition until 1987. He became a member of the province's Executive Council as

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

and Minister for Multiculturalism from 1987 to 1991 under Premier

Frank McKenna Francis Joseph McKenna (born January 19, 1948) is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat. He is currently Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. He served as Canadian Ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006 ...

. He was out of cabinet from 1991 onwards to 1993.

Judiciary

McKee resigned his seat in 1993 after being named a judge in the provincial court and retired as provincial court justice in March 2015.

References

* ''Canadian Parliamentary Guide, 1988'', PG Normandin
Entry from Canadian Who's Who
1940 births Living people New Brunswick Liberal Association MLAs Judges in New Brunswick People from Bouctouche People from Moncton 20th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Canadian politicians {{NewBrunswick-MLA-stub