Quick Facts
Biography
John MacDonell (born April 2, 1956) is a retired Canadian educator and politician.
A native of Halifax, MacDonell was educated at Acadia University and Saint Mary's University. MacDonell worked on a dairy farm and taught biology at Hants East Rural High School from 1985 to 1998.
Political career
In 1998 MacDonell successfully ran for the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party nomination in the riding of Hants East. He was elected in the 1998 provincial election and was re-elected in the 1999, 2003, 2006 and 2009 provincial elections.
In 2002, MacDonell was a candidate for the leadership of the Nova Scotia NDP. At the leadership convention in June 2002, MacDonell was defeated by Darrell Dexter.
On June 19, 2009 MacDonell was appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia where he served first as Minister of Natural Resources until 2011 and then as Minister of Agriculture. MacDonell was defeated in the 2013 provincial election.