Don McRae (politician)

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Don McRae
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Comox Valley
In office
May 12, 2009 – May 9, 2017
Preceded byStan Hagen
Succeeded byRonna-Rae Leonard
Minister of Agriculture of British Columbia
In office
March 14, 2011 – September 5, 2012
PremierChristy Clark
Preceded byBen Stewart
Succeeded byNorm Letnick
Minister of Education of British Columbia
In office
September 5, 2012 – June 7, 2013
PremierChristy Clark
Preceded byGeorge Abbott
Succeeded byPeter Fassbender
Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation of British Columbia
In office
June 10, 2013 – February 2, 2015
PremierChristy Clark
Succeeded byMichelle Stilwell
Personal details
Born1969 or 1970 (age 53–54)[1]
Comox Valley, British Columbia
Political partyLiberal
Other political
affiliations		BC Liberal
SpouseDeanne
ChildrenGracie, Chloe
OccupationSecondary school vice principal

Don McRae (born 1969 or 1970) is a Former Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada, and a member of the BC Liberal Party. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly from the riding of Comox Valley in the 2009 provincial election. After serving nearly 2 years on the backbenches he was appointed Minister of Agriculture on March 14, 2011, in Premier Christy Clark's first cabinet. On September 5, 2012, he was appointed as the Minister of Education. In addition to his ministerial roles, he sat on the Environment and Land Use Committee and the Cabinet Committee on Open Government and Engagement. He introduced one piece of legislation, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Amendment Act, 2011.

Prior to working in the provincial government, McRae worked as a secondary school teacher at Georges P. Vanier Secondary School. He spent seven years on Courtenay's city council, having successfully run in the 2002, 2005, and 2008 municipal elections. He was appointed as a director to the Comox-Strathcona Regional District and later the Comox Valley Regional District.

Background[edit]

Don McRae was born and raised in the Comox Valley. He graduated from Georges P. Vanier Secondary School and went to the University of British Columbia as well as San Diego State University where he graduated specializing in education and international relations.[2] He moved back to Courtenay and worked as a teacher at Georges P. Vanier Secondary School from the mid-1990s until his election as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in 2009. Shortly after moving to Courtenay, he married a woman named Deanne. Together they had two daughters, one born in 2003 and the second in 2009.[3]

McRae spent seven years on the Courtenay city council. He was first elected in November 2002 and was re-elected in 2005 and 2008. While on council he voted against allowing businesses to stay open late-night,[4][5] supported surveillance cameras in public areas,[6] and led an initiative to rename streets after specific, locally-significant people.[7] He also supported work at establishing a walking/cycling trail across the Comox Valley, from the Town of Comox to Comox Lake.[8] He was appointed to the Comox-Strathcona Regional District board of directors in 2006.[9] As one of Courtenay's two Regional Directors, he supported the Vancouver Island Health Authority's controversial attempt to build a new regional hospital near Dove Creek,[10] but he later supported a compromised position that would see a new hospital built in the Comox Valley with the Campbell River hospital remaining open for emergency and acute care.[11] McRae disliked how the Comox-Strathcona Regional District operated, calling the urban-rural voting blocks "dysfunctional".[12][13] He favoured an amalgamation of Courtenay, Cumberland, Comox, and several electoral areas to form a new regional government.[14] McRae welcomed the province's move to split the Regional District (creating the Comox Valley Regional District and the Strathcona Regional District),[15] and even supported a proposal to include the Comox Indian Band on the Comox Valley Regional District's Board of Directors.[16]

Provincial politics[edit]

After Comox Valley MLA Stan Hagen suddenly died of a heart attack in January 2009, the BC Liberal Party had to nominate someone new for the up-coming May 2009 general election. Along with McRae, 3 other people stood for the nomination: B.C. Shellfish Growers' Association executive director Roberta Stevenson, Salvation Army manager Shawn Wilson, Habitat for Humanity worker Jon Toogood, and Comox Valley Airport Commissioner Ken Dawson (though Dawson withdrew several weeks before the nomination vote).[17][18] The vote was held on March 12, with 650 registered BC Liberal members and a preferential voting system, and McRae won the nomination on the third ballot.[19] Campaigning for the May general election began soon afterwards where he faced BC NDP candidate and log scaler Leslie McNabb, BC Green Party candidate and author Hazel Lennox, BC Refederation Party and forest industry administrator Paula Berard,[20] and People's Front candidate and health-care worker Barbara Biley.[21] The riding was predicted to have a very competitive race[22] and was "too close to call".[23] McRae was supported by Minister of Finance and fellow BC Liberal Colin Hansen who visited Courtenay to attend a McRae campaign event.[24] McRae was criticized in the campaign for failing to attend a debate on Education. McRae won the riding with 47% of the vote in the 39th general election with his BC Liberal Party forming the government after winning 49 of province's 85 seats.

Don McRae, Minister of Agriculture

As the 39th Parliament of British Columbia began, McRae was not selected for the Executive Council by Premier Gordon Campbell. McRae was assigned to three parliamentary committees: Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, Select Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, and the Select Standing Committee on Health. In the parliament's second session he was also assigned to the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth. McRae defended the government budget presented in September 2009 but was disappointed it ran a deficit, blaming an unexpected drop in revenue.[25] Nonetheless, McRae was able to participate in government funding announcements, like $347,400 for ecosystem restoration at the Mount Washington Alpine Resort,[26] and additional funds for sewer upgrades within his riding.[27][28] As a member of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services which introduced the Harmonized Sales Tax McRae faced significant attention from the Fight HST group organized to oppose the tax.[29][30] The group collected over 10,000 signatures from the Comox Valley riding on a petition opposing the HST and launched a recall initiative against McRae.[31] McRae sought legal advice against the recall initiative which he claimed were spreading mis-information, specifically that the group was claiming 12,000 people in his riding had signed the petition against the HST, not 10,000 people.[32] However, the effort to recall McRae eventually failed, having only collected 5,181 of the 19,000 signatures required.[33] Despite McRae supporting the HST, tax payers provincially and in his own riding did not. The subsequent province-wide HST referendum resulted in 14,759 votes (53%) to extinguish the HST system in McRae's Comox Valley riding, with 55% province-wide voting to extinguish the HST.[34]

During the BC Liberal Party leadership election to replace BC Liberal leader, and BC Premier, Gordon Campbell, McRae endorsed George Abbott in December.[35] In March 2011, after Christy Clark won the leadership election and was named Premier, she included McRae into her Executive Council as Minister of Agriculture. Without a background in farming, McRae underwent a steep learning curve which involved travelling across the province to learn about the issues.[36][37] As the minister responsible, McRae accepted the recommendations of the Sled Dog Task Force which investigated the slaughter of nearly 100 sled dogs in Whistler following a drop in tourism after the 2010 Winter Olympics.[38] He followed through with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Amendment Act, 2011, which was introduced on May 11 and adopted on June 2. The amendment act increased potential fines to $75,000 and jail terms to two years for animal cruelty charges and extended the statute of limitations on such charges to three years.[39]

In a minor cabinet shuffle, McRae, was promoted to Minister of Education on September 5, 2012.[40]

After the Liberals won the 2013 provincial election, McRae returned to cabinet with the portfolio of Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation.

In February 2015, McRae tendered his resignation from Cabinet in order to deal with family matters.[41] He is currently working again as a Vice Principal at Highland Secondary in Comox.

Election history[edit]

2013 British Columbia general election: Comox Valley
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal Don McRae 14,248 44.27
New Democratic Kassandra Dycke 12,480 38.77
Green Chris Aikman 3,718 11.55
Conservative Diane Hoffmann 1,740 5.41
Total valid votes 32,186 100.00
Total rejected ballots 99 0.31
Turnout 32,285 63.99
Source: Elections BC[42]
2009 British Columbia general election: Comox Valley
Party Candidate Votes % Expenditures
Liberal Don McRae 13,886 47 $92,892
New Democratic Leslie McNabb 12,508 43 $123,151
Green Hazel Lennox 2,577 9 $3,370
Refederation Paula Berard 266 0.9 $360
People's Front Barbara Biley 120 0.4 $256
Total valid votes 29,357
Total rejected ballots 141 0.5
Turnout 29,498 61
http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/2009GE/CMX.pdf

References[edit]

  1. ^ Comox Valley Times - Colonist [Victoria, B.C] 05 May 2013: D.7.
  2. ^ "Veteran councillor wants to be MLA". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. 26 February 2009. p. 10.
  3. ^ Dane, Colleen (14 May 2009). "Daddy becomes MLA after all". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 3.
  4. ^ "City rejects late night bar hours". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. 6 October 2004. p. 1.
  5. ^ "Late night openings likely to continue". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. 15 February 2006. p. 3.
  6. ^ "Youth curfew debated". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. 11 August 2006. p. 1.
  7. ^ "Street name policy consolidated". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. 8 November 2006. p. 5.
  8. ^ "Valley-wide trail proposed by Courtenay councillor". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. 10 February 2006. p. 5.
  9. ^ "New appointments announced". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. 7 December 2005. p. 3.
  10. ^ "Mayor, councillors split over hospital tactics". Campbell River Mirror. Campbell River, British Columbia. 9 March 2007. p. 1.
  11. ^ "Hospital debate morphed into 16-3 majority for new facility". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. 25 May 2007. p. 1.
  12. ^ "Frustrated councillor finds CSRD is 'dysfunctional'". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. 8 November 2006. p. 4.
  13. ^ "Councillor clarifies 'dysfunctional' rant". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. 29 November 2006. p. 6.
  14. ^ "Politicians vary on amalgamation". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. 24 November 2006. p. 3.
  15. ^ "Regional district split worries rural areas". Campbell River Mirror. Campbell River, British Columbia. 20 July 2007. p. 1.
  16. ^ Wiens, Christiana (20 July 2007). "Valley reps think band should be represented". Courier - Islander. Campbell River, British Columbia. p. 4.
  17. ^ Dane, Colleen (17 February 2009). "Shellfish growers' rep wants MLA seat". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 6.
  18. ^ Dane, Colleen (24 February 2009). "Liberal candidates grow, and shrink". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 4.
  19. ^ Dane, Colleen (17 March 2009). "McRae new Liberal candidate". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 6.
  20. ^ Dane, Colleen (23 April 2009). "Berard steps up as fourth candidate". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 2.
  21. ^ Dane, Colleen (28 April 2009). "Five candidates seeking your B.C. election vote". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 5.
  22. ^ Bermingham, John (14 April 2009). "Hot ridings to watch". The Province. Vancouver. p. 6.
  23. ^ Ward, Doug (5 May 2009). "Interior offers voting contrast; Redistribution of some ridings has put them in the too-close-to-call category". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver. p. 8.
  24. ^ Haluschak, Erin (5 May 2009). "B.C. finance minister campaigns for McRae". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 3.
  25. ^ Dane, Colleen (3 September 2009). "MLA defends tough budget as right thing to do". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 3.
  26. ^ "Mt. Washington gets $347,400". Times-Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. 17 September 2009. p. B1.
  27. ^ Dane, Colleen (24 September 2009). "Federal-provincial cash showered on Valley". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 6.
  28. ^ Scott, Stanfield (29 June 2009). "Dollars flowing into projects". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 5.
  29. ^ Dane, Colleen (30 July 2009). "Harmonized Sales Tax concerns some businesses". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 3.
  30. ^ Chung, Lindsay (19 August 2010). "MLA McRae makes HST opponents' hit list". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 6.
  31. ^ "MLA upset by recallers". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. 20 January 2011. p. 8.
  32. ^ Stanfield, Scott (25 January 2011). "MLA recall target is still crying foul". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 1.
  33. ^ "Recall campaign falls short in Comox Valley". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. 23 March 2011.
  34. ^ Haluschak, Erin (30 August 2011). "HST rejection no surprise in Comox Valley". The Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  35. ^ Fletcher, Tom (28 December 2010). "Abbott, Falcon duel for endorsements". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. p. 18.
  36. ^ Thomson, Heather (8 April 2011). "Agriculture minister climbs steep learning curve". Alberni Valley Times. Port Alberni, British Columbia. p. 1.
  37. ^ Steeves, Judie (23 April 2011). "Agriculture minister tours the Okanagan". Kelowna Capital News. Kelowna, British Columbia. p. 1.
  38. ^ "Sled dog cull report to be submitted today". Kamloops Daily News. Kamloops, British Columbia. 25 March 2011. p. 7.
  39. ^ Cooper, Sam (12 May 2011). "Animal cruelty laws tabled; Sled dog task force proposes steeper fines, jail time". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. p. 23.
  40. ^ "Don McRae is new B.C. education minister, replacing George Abbott". Vancouver Sun. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  41. ^ "Don McRae resigns as social development minister". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. 30 January 2015.
  42. ^ "Statement of Votes - 40th Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 17 May 2017.

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