Keith Milligan

Keith Wayne Milligan (born February 8, 1950) is a Canadian politician who was the 29th premier of Prince Edward Island, serving for seven weeks in the autumn of 1996. He was educated at Inverness District School, O'Leary Regional High School and the University of PEI, where he obtained Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees. He is married to the former Deborah Foley and they reside in Tyne Valley. They have three children - Charles Christian (Jolene), Olivia (Shawn) and Dustin.

Provincial politics He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of PEI in a by-election on February 2, 1981, and was re-elected in the general elections of 1982, 1986, 1989, 1993 and 1996. He served as interim Leader of the Opposition and Critic for Education. In 1986 he was appointed Minister of Health and Social Services and Minister Responsible for the Hospital and Health Services Commission. In 1989, Milligan was appointed Minister of Agriculture. In 1993 he was appointed Minister of Education and Human Resources and in 1994 he was appointed Minister of Transportation and Public Works.

Brief tenure as Premier In October 1996, he was chosen leader of the governing Liberal party and became Premier, following Catherine Callbeck's resignation. Milligan's Liberals lost the following November provincial election to Pat Binns' Progressive Conservatives.

Federal politics Having announced he would be seeking the Liberal nomination in the federal riding of Egmont, on November 3, 2007, at the nominating Liberal convention, he lost the nomination to Robert Morrissey. When Morrissey stepped down, however, Milligan was acclaimed as the new candidate on September 5, 2008. He lost to Conservative candidate, Gail Shea in the 2008 election, in one of the narrowest results in the country. A requested recount did not affect the result, and Milligan conceded.

Since 2008 Milligan is a former elk farmer and silver fox rancher. He has previously been employed as a teacher with the Unit 1 School board and Regional Director of the West Prince Services Centre. He has been vice-president of the Tyne Valley Community Oyster Festival, a member of the West Prince Community Advisory Board, the Canadian National Fur Breeders' Association, the PEI Fur Breeders' Association, the Tyne Valley Fireman's Club and the Tyne Valley Community Sports Centre.

Electoral record