Ronald William "Ronnie" MacKinley (born August 24, 1947) is a

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

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 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and former member of the

Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island (french: Assemblée législative de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard) is the sole chamber of the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island. The Legislative Assembly meets at Province House, which is locate ...

Early life

Born in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

, MacKinley is the son of John McKinley and Mildred Sellar. He was raised on the family farm in the rural community of North River which was amalgamated into the town of

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in 1996. Before running for office, MacKinley worked as a farmer in North River. Apart from owning and operating his farm, he co-owns MacKinley Brothers beef farm with his mother and his son. He is married to Anne Clarkin, and has three children, and two grandchildren. MacKinley has served as vice-chair of the Elliot River CIC; as a director of the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture and of the P.E.I. Farm Centre. In addition to this, he is a former member of the Canadian Horticultural Council Labour Board and Uniform Legislation Board, as well as a former Queens County Chair for the P.E.I. Potato Producers' Association.

Political career

MacKinley enjoyed a long political career. He was first elected to represent his riding in a 1985

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, and served continuously until 2015. In the 2000 provincial election, MacKinley was the sole Liberal MLA elected, and also the only

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MLA. As a result of this, he served as

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and ''

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'' Liberal leader until 2003, when he was replaced in both capacities by

Robert Ghiz Robert Watson Joseph Ghiz (born January 21, 1974) is a Canadian politician who served as the 31st premier of Prince Edward Island from 2007 to 2015. He is the son of the 27th premier, Joe Ghiz. On November 13, 2014 Ghiz announced he would be re ...

. MacKinley has served as Opposition Critic for Transportation and Public Works, Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Aquaculture; he was the Chairman of the important Public Accounts Committee of the legislature, which must always be chaired by a member of the Opposition. On 12 June 2007, MacKinley assumed office as Minister of Transportation and Public Works, serving under PEI Premier

. His position was renamed to Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal during a government reorganization on 13 January 2010. MacKinley announced his retirement from politics on 10 February 2015, choosing not to seek re-election in the

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

provincial campaign.Ron MacKinley announces he won't reoffer in next election
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References

Ron MacKinley's Prince Edward Island government biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackinley, Ron 1947 births Living people People from Charlottetown Prince Edward Island Liberal Party MLAs Prince Edward Island Liberal Party leaders 21st-century Canadian politicians Members of the Executive Council of Prince Edward Island