Russell Vincent MacKinnon (born October 4, 1953) is a Canadian 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 ...
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 1988 to 1995 and then from 1998 to 2006 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 ...
and then Independent member.
Early life and education
He was born in Grand Mira South, Nova Scotia, the son of Neil Helarius MacKinnon and was educated at the Nova Scotia Land Survey Institute.
Political career
First elected in the
1988 Nova Scotia general election
The 1988 Nova Scotia general election was held on September 6, 1988 to elect members of the 55th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservative party.
John Dunsworth, who would later gain fa ...
, MacKinnon later served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Labour when the Liberal took power.
In 1994, MacKinnon was suspended from the Liberal caucus for refusing to vote in favor of the government's municipal services exchange bill. MacKinnon sat as an independent until he resigned his seat on April 10, 1995, to make an unsuccessful bid to become mayor of the
Cape Breton Regional Municipality
Cape Breton Regional Municipality (often referred to as simply "CBRM") is the Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2016 the municipality has a population of 94,285. The ...
. He was reelected in 1998. He sat as an independent from April 2005 and did not run for reelection in 2006, when he was defeated in a bid to win the Progressive Conservative nomination in Cape Breton West.
Criminal charges
On February 14, 2011, it was announced that MacKinnon was among four people facing criminal charges in connection with the RCMP investigation into 2010s MLA expense scandal. MacKinnon was charged with fraud exceeding $5,000, breach of trust by a public officer, and 8 counts of uttering a forged document.
On May 3, 2012, MacKinnon pleaded not guilty and went to trial on the charges in March 2013. On March 15, 2013, MacKinnon stopped testifying at his trial and pleaded guilty to breach of trust, and was sentenced to an eight-month conditional sentence.
Personal life
In 1973, he married Gail Ann MacGillivary. He is currently married to
Halifax Atlantic
Halifax Atlantic is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
The Member of the Legislative Assembly since 2013 has been Brendan Maguire of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. ...