Flora MacDonald

Flora Isabel MacDonald (June 3, 1926 – July 26, 2015) was a Canadian politician and humanitarian. Canada's first female foreign minister, she was also one of the first women to vie for leadership of a major Canadian political party, the Progressive Conservatives. She became a close ally of Prime Minister Joe Clark, serving in his cabinet from 1979 to 1980, as well as in the cabinet of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney from 1984 to 1988. In her later life, she was known for her humanitarian work abroad. Jimmy Carter has said that 90% of the contribution to freeing American hostages in Iran should be attributed to her and Kenneth D. Taylor. The City of Ottawa recognised MacDonald on July 11, 2018, by naming a new bicycle and footbridge (opening 2019) over the Rideau Canal the Flora Footbridge.

Early life and career MacDonald was born in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, the daughter of Mary Isabel Royle and George Frederick MacDonald. She was one of 6 children and of Scottish ancestry. MacDonald was raised in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

In her youth, Macdonald trained as a secretary at Empire Business College and found work as a bank teller

After hitchhiking through Europe, she returned to Canada and became involved in politics, working on Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative leader Robert Stanfield's campaign which won an upset victory in the 1956 provincial election.

She continued working for the party in various capacities but grew disillusioned with Diefenbaker and was fired by him when he learned of her support for party president Dalton Camp's campaign for a leadership review. She worked for the Department of Political Studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, while continuing to support the anti-Diefenbaker camp and worked on Robert Stanfield's successful campaign during the 1967 Progressive Conservative leadership election and worked for him during the 1968 federal election.

At the 1976 PC leadership convention, she became the second woman to mount a serious campaign for the leadership of one Canada's major parties. In this, she had been preceded by Rosemary Brown who came in second in her 1975 bid for the leadership of the New Democratic Party. and Flora Factor for the phenomenon of a female politician's promised support failing to materialise. MacDonald dropped off after the second ballot, and encouraged her supporters to vote for Joe Clark, the eventual winner.

Minister of External Affairs Clark and MacDonald, both moderates, became allies throughout their careers. When Clark became Prime Minister of Canada in 1979, MacDonald became the first female Secretary of State for External Affairs in Canadian history, and one of the first female foreign ministers anywhere in the world.

During MacDonald's tenure, she had to deal with the Vietnamese boat people refugee crises that followed the end of the Vietnam War. MacDonald and Immigration Minister Ron Atkey developed a plan in which the Canadian federal government would match the number of refugees sponsored by members of the general public, allowing more than 60,000 Vietnamese refugees to enter Canada.

MacDonald's tenure as foreign minister was short-lived, however, as Clark's minority government was defeated on an amendment to the budget in December 1979, while MacDonald was on government business in Brussels. The PCs were voted out of office in the subsequent federal election held on February 18, 1980, although MacDonald held her seat.

Return to Opposition The Conservatives returned to the Opposition benches in 1980. MacDonald served as critic for External Affairs, her old cabinet portfolio. While Clark continued as party leader, his position was challenged by calls for a leadership review which ultimately led to the 1983 leadership convention. MacDonald supported Clark in his campaign to regain the leadership, but Clark lost to Brian Mulroney.

Return to government

MacDonald returned to government after the PC victory in the 1984 federal election, serving first as Minister of Employment and Immigration from 1984 to 1986, and then as Minister of Communications from 1986 to 1988, under Prime Minister Mulroney. "I thought I deserved better than to be defeated after working so hard," MacDonald later stated.

In 2003, she briefly re-entered the political scene to oppose the merger of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and the Canadian Alliance, but was unable to prevent the folding of the PCs into the new Conservative Party of Canada. According to journalist Thomas Walkom, she voted for the New Democratic Party in the 2004 federal election. She was also a supporter of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, an organisation which campaigns for democratic reformation of the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system.

Death MacDonald died in Ottawa on July 26, 2015, at the age of 89. Her death met with an outpouring of praise from figures across the political spectrum in Canada. Peter Milliken, who defeated her in the 1988 election, hailed her as a trailblazer for women in politics and said she did an "incredible job" as the country's foreign minister. Joe Clark, her onetime rival for leadership and later ally in PC politics, said she "changed lives across our country" and "around the world". Kingston's prominent 400-boat harbour in front of City Hall is named the Flora MacDonald Confederation Basin in her honour. Received the Order of Ontario in 1995. Promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in 1998. Awarded the Padma Shri, a civilian award, by the Government of India in 2004. Peter Raymont made a National Film Board documentary of her 1976 leadership bid, entitled Flora. Made a Member of the Order of Nova Scotia in 2007. St. Andrew's Society of Toronto Scot of the Year Award, 2009. Recipient of the Canada World Peace Award, awarded by the World Federalist Movement-Canada, October 2010. Advisory Council member of the Dancer Transition Resource Centre. Awarded the Canadian Version of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002. Awarded the Canadian Version of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. Awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Maclean's magazine in 2014. The City of Ottawa recognised MacDonald on July 11, 2018, by naming a new footbridge over the Rideau Canal the "Flora Footbridge".

Ribbon bars of Flora MacDonald

Honorary degrees Country Date School Degree Nova Scotia, Canada 1979 Mount Saint Vincent University Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL) Ontario, Canada May 1980 McMaster University Doctor of Laws (LL.D) 1981 Queen's University Doctor of Laws (LL.D) New York, United States May 8, 1988 Potsdam College Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL) Ontario, Canada Spring 1989 York University Doctor of Laws (LL.D) May 18, 1990 Royal Military College of Canada Doctor of Laws (LL.D) 1996 Carleton University Doctor of Laws (LL.D) North Carolina, United States St. Andrews University Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL) Ontario, Canada June 12, 1998 Brock University Doctor of Laws (LL.D) Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada May 2003 Memorial University of Newfoundland Doctor of Laws (LL.D) Nova Scotia, Canada Cape Breton University Doctor of Laws (LL.D) May 23, 2003 Saint Mary's University Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) New Brunswick, Canada 2004 Mount Allison University Doctor of Laws (LL.D) Ontario, Canada 2006 University of Waterloo Doctor of Laws (LL.D) June 12, 2007 University of Western Ontario Doctor of Laws (LL.D) 2008 Trent University Doctor of Laws (LL.D) Nova Scotia, Canada May 2, 2010 St. Francis Xavier University Doctor of Laws (LL.D) Ontario, Canada Fall 2010 University of Windsor Doctor of Laws (LL.D)

Film MacDonald’s bid to become the first female leader of the Progressive Conservatives was the subject of Peter Raymont’s 1977 National Film Board of Canada documentary film Flora: Scenes From a Leadership Convention, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Electoral record

Archives There is a Flora MacDonald fonds at Library and Archives Canada.