Alexa McDonough, a former Member of Parliament for Halifax, Nova Scotia, was honoured on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 with the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her distinguished record of achievement and commitment to public life. The award was presented during a gala dinner in Halifax attended by several hundred former colleagues, family and friends as well as a host of local dignitaries and members of the provincial legislature.
Alexa McDonough served with distinction in Parliament from 1995 through 2003 as Leader of the New Democratic Party. Stepping down as Leader in 2003, she went on to serve two more terms, retiring in 2008. She was the first woman leader of a major political party in Canada when she was elected Leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party in 1980. A social worker by training and an activist by avocation, she was credited with breathing new life into the national party. Noted for championing many causes and always prominent in the peace movement, Alexa McDonough was named Interim President of Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax in 2009 after her retirement from federal politics. She was appointed an Officer in the Order of Canada that same year and on May 14, 2012, she was presented with an Honorary Doctor of Civil Laws from Acadia University.
A video tribute to Alexa, featuring Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter and NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair among others, was played during the evening and is available here.
We thank the numerous table sponsors and friends of Alexa who made the evening a success.
