Roseanne Skoke (born September 11, 1954) was the

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 ...

MP for the riding of

Central Nova Central Nova (french: Nova-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 until 1996. In 1996, Antigonish County and part of Guysborough County were placed with Pic ...

from 1993 to 1997.

Political career

Central Nova had been considered a safe Progressive Conservative riding, but its popular MP,

Elmer MacKay Elmer MacIntosh MacKay (born August 5, 1936) is a former Canadian politician. Life and career MacKay was born in Hopewell, Nova Scotia, the son of Laura Louise (Macintosh) and Gordon Barclay MacKay. He was first elected to the House of Commons ...

, did not run for reelection in 1993. Skoke was elected in the gigantic Liberal landslide of that year as the party swept Nova Scotia and won all but one seat in the Atlantic provinces. She was one of the more

socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...

members of the Liberal caucus, drawing great controversy for her remarks on

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

in 1995, calling it "unnatural and immoral." Due to redistribution prior to the 1997 federal election, Skoke was forced to run against fellow Liberal MP Francis LeBlanc for the Liberal nomination in her riding, which was renamed

Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough was a federal electoral district in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004. This riding was created in 1996 from Cape Breton Highlands— ...

. She was defeated due, in part, to controversies surrounding her. She refused to campaign for LeBlanc in the 1997 election leading some Liberals to blame her for LeBlanc's defeat at the hands of

Peter MacKay Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and has served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General (2013–2015), Minister of National Defence (2007� ...

. Skoke attempted a political comeback by running for the leadership of the

Nova Scotia Liberal Party The Nova Scotia Liberal Party is a centrist provincial political party in Nova Scotia, Canada and the provincial section of the Liberal Party of Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Nova Scotia, under the leadership of Zach ...

later that year. She placed third. In 1998, she unsuccessfully attempted to win a seat 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 ...

by running against

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 ...

Pictou Centre Pictou Centre is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Members of the Legislative Assembly This riding has elected the following Members of the Legislative Assembly: ...

during the provincial election.

Legal cases

In the 1980s, she was one of six people charged and convicted for disturbing an act of solemnity during a service of religious worship after she insisted on kneeling for communion at her Catholic church. Those convictions were later overturned in the Supreme Court of Canada. In October 2015, she began a private lawsuit against the bishop and Diocese of Antigonish after the diocese announced the coming closure of Our Lady of Lourdes church.

Electoral history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skoke, Roseanne 1954 births Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia People from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia Women in Nova Scotia politics Canadian people of Croatian descent Canadian Roman Catholics