View source for Alexa McDonough

{{Short description|Canadian politician (1944–2022)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix   = 
| name               = Alexa McDonough
| honorific-suffix   = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OC|ONS|size=100%}}
| image              = Alexa McDonough cropped.jpg
| imagesize          = 220px
| alt                = 
| caption            = McDonough in 2008
| office             = Leader of the [[New Democratic Party]]
| term_start         = October 14, 1995
| term_end           = January 25, 2003
| deputy             = 
| predecessor        = [[Audrey McLaughlin]]
| successor          = [[Jack Layton]]
| riding2            = [[Halifax (federal electoral district)|Halifax]]
| parliament2        = Canadian
| term_start2        = June 2, 1997
| term_end2          = October 14, 2008
| predecessor2       = [[Mary Clancy]]
| successor2         = [[Megan Leslie]]
| majority2          = 
| office3            = Leader of the [[Nova Scotia New Democratic Party]]
| term_start3        = November 16, 1980
| term_end3          = November 19, 1994
| deputy3            = 
| predecessor3       = [[Buddy MacEachern]]
| successor3         = [[John Holm]]
| office4            = Member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia]]
| term_start4        = May 25, 1993
| term_end4          = October 20, 1995
| predecessor4       = ''Constituency established''
| successor4         = [[Eileen O'Connell (politician)|Eileen O'Connell]]
| constituency4      = [[Halifax Fairview]]
| term_start5        = October 6, 1981
| term_end5          = May 25, 1993
| predecessor5       = [[Walter Fitzgerald (politician)|Walter Fitzgerald]]
| successor5         = [[Jay Abbass]]
| constituency5      = [[Halifax Chebucto]]
| birth_name         = Alexa Ann Shaw
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1944|08|11}}
| birth_place        = [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2022|01|15|1944|08|11}}
| death_place        = [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], Canada
| restingplace       = 
| party              = [[New Democratic Party|New Democratic]] (from 1974)
| otherparty         = [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] (1970–1974)
| spouse             = {{marriage|Peter McDonough|1966|1993|end=div.}}
| partner            = [[David MacDonald (Canadian politician)|David MacDonald]] (1997–2004)
| children           = 2
| father             = [[Lloyd R. Shaw]]
| mother             = Jean MacKinnon
| residence          = 
| alma_mater         = [[Dalhousie University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| occupation         = 
| profession         = {{hlist|Politician|[[social worker]]}}
| cabinet            = 
| signature          = 
| signature_alt      = 
| website            = 
}}

'''Alexa Ann McDonough''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OC|ONS}} ({{née}} '''Shaw'''; August 11, 1944 – January 15, 2022) was a Canadian politician who became the first woman to lead a major, recognized political party in Nova Scotia, when she was elected the [[Nova Scotia New Democratic Party]]'s (NSNDP) leader in 1980.

McDonough served as a member of the Nova Scotia Legislature from 1981 to 1994, representing the [[Halifax Chebucto]] and [[Halifax Fairview]] electoral districts. She stepped down as the NSNDP's leader and as a member of the legislature in 1994. She subsequently ran for, and was elected, leader of the federal [[New Democratic Party]] (NDP) in 1995. McDonough was elected the [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Halifax (federal electoral district)|the federal electoral district of Halifax]] in 1997. She stepped down as party leader in 2003, but continued to serve as an MP for two more terms, until 2008, when she retired from politics altogether. In 2009, she became the interim president of [[Mount Saint Vincent University]] and was appointed an [[Order of Canada|Officer of the Order of Canada]] in December of that year.

==Early life and education==
McDonough was born '''Alexa Ann Shaw''' in [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], on August 11, 1944, at the [[Ottawa Civic Hospital]].<ref>{{cite news
 | title      = Born
 | date       = August 12, 1944
 | page       = 14
 | newspaper  = Ottawa Citizen
 | url        = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92636549/the-ottawa-citizen/
 | accessdate = January 15, 2022
 | url-access = subscription
 | via        = [[Newspapers.com]]
}}</ref> Her parents were Jean MacKinnon and [[Lloyd R. Shaw|Lloyd Robert Shaw]], a wealthy businessman who was committed to progressive politics.<ref name="natural leader">
{{cite news
 | title         = McDonough 'natural leader' from teens
 | first         = Tim
 | last          = Harper
 | url           = https://www.proquest.com/docview/437374532
 | newspaper     = The Toronto Star
 | location      = Toronto
 | date          = October 15, 1995
 | pages         = A5
 | access-date   = December 30, 2009
 | id = {{ProQuest|437374532}}
 | url-access    = subscription
 | via           = [[ProQuest]]
}}</ref> He served as the first research director for the federal NDP's predecessor, the national [[Co-operative Commonwealth Federation]] (CCF),<ref name="Lloyd Shaw">
{{cite book
 | last          = Young
 | first         = Walter
 | title         = The Anatomy of a Party: The National CCF 1932–61
 | year          = 1969 
 | publisher     = University of Toronto Press
 | location      = Toronto
 | page          = 221
 | isbn          = 9780802052216
 | url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=ak0qAQAAMAAJ&q=Book+The+Anatomy+of+a+party:+The+National+CCF
}}</ref> and was an early financial backer of the NDP when it formed in 1961.<ref name="natural leader"/>

McDonough was involved in social activism from an early age, when, at 14, she led her church youth group in publicizing the conditions of [[Africville]], a low-income, predominantly Black neighbourhood in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]].<ref name="natural leader"/> She attended [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] in Kingston, Ontario, which was her family's ''[[alma mater]]''.<ref name="Lonely Road">
{{cite news
 | title         = N.S. NDP leader faces lonely road
 | first         = Michael
 | last          = Harris
 | newspaper     = [[The Globe and Mail]]
 | location      = Toronto
 | date          = October 20, 1981
 | page          = 10
 | url           = https://www.proquest.com/docview/1143140911
 | id = {{ProQuest|1143140911}}
 | url-access    = subscription
 | via           = ProQuest
}}</ref> After two-years, she transferred to [[Dalhousie University]] in Halifax, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and psychology in 1965.<ref name="Lonely Road"/> She became a social worker and, during the [[1970 Nova Scotia general election]], worked for [[Gerald Regan]]'s Liberal Party, writing that party's social policy platform.<ref name="Lonely Road"/> She quickly became disenchanted with Regan and the Liberals, and joined the New Democratic Party in 1974.<ref name="Lonely Road"/>

==Provincial leadership==
McDonough's first foray into electoral politics occurred during the [[1979 Canadian federal election|1979]] and [[1980 Canadian federal election|1980 federal elections]].<ref name="stepping down">
{{Cite news
 | last        = McCharles
 | first       = Tonda
 | title       = Candid McDonough to quit as NDP leader; Stepping down to help 'revitalize' federal party
 | newspaper   = [[The Toronto Star]]
 | pages       = A1, A6
 | date        = June 6, 2002
 | access-date = December 31, 2009
 | url         = https://www.proquest.com/docview/1328129145
 | id = {{ProQuest|1328129145}}
 | url-access  = subscription
 | via         = Proquest
}}
</ref> In both of those elections, she ran unsuccessfully in the federal [[Halifax (federal electoral district)|riding of Halifax]].<ref name="LoP Halifax"/>  In the 1980 federal election, she lost to former Nova Scotia premier Gerald Regan,<ref name="LoP Halifax"/> the same politician that she once supported back in 1970.<ref name="CBC obit"/><ref>
{{cite book
 | title      = Muriel Duckworth, a Very Active Pacifist: A Biography 
 | url        = https://books.google.com/books?id=91xjAAAAMAAJ&q=%22alexa+mcdonough%22+%22Gerald+Regan%22
 | publisher  = Fernwood Publishing
 | year       = 1996
 | last       = Kerans
 | first      = Marion Douglas
 | page       = 190
 | isbn       = 9781895686685
}}</ref>

Just after the 1980 federal election, in the spring, [[Jeremy Akerman]] stepped down as the Nova Scotia NDP's leader. At this time, there was a growing rift between the Cape Breton Island and Mainland wings of the party.<ref name="Caustic Cape Bretoner">
{{cite news
 | title      = Caustic Cape Bretoner a pariah in NDP
 | first      = Barbara
 | last       = Yaffe
 | newspaper  = The Globe and Mail
 | location   = Toronto
 | date       = June 6, 1980
 | page       = 11
}}
</ref> This rift exploded in June, when [[Paul MacEwan]], the NDP MLA for [[Cape Breton Nova]], was expelled from the party due to his constant public airing of internal party disputes, including the implication that Akerman resigned due to "Trotskyist elements" from the mostly mainland-based provincial council.<ref name="Alternate NDP">
{{cite news
 | title      = Nova Scotia MLA threatens to establish alternate NDP
 | first      = Barbara
 | last       = Yaffe
 | newspaper  = The Globe and Mail
 | location   = Toronto
 | date       = June 30, 1980
| page       = 8
}}
</ref> To make this situation worse for an incoming leader, the NDP's four MLAs, all from Cape Breton constituencies, voted 3–1 to keep him in the caucus, with [[Len J. Arsenault]] – the MLA for [[Cape Breton North]] – being the only negative vote.<ref name="Wrangling">
{{cite news
 | title      = Party wrangling in the Maritimes
 | first      = Ralph
 | last       = Surette
 | newspaper  = The Globe and Mail
 | location   = Toronto
 | date       = September 13, 1980
| page       = 8
}}
</ref> MacEwan's expulsion became one of the dominant issues during the leadership race that fall.<ref name="Wrangling"/>

In late September, Akerman was appointed to a top Nova Scotia civil service job that required him to both resign from the Legislature and terminate his membership in the NDP.<ref name="interim leader">
{{cite news
 | title      = NDP appoints interim leader
 | agency     = Canadian Press
 | newspaper  = The Globe and Mail
 | location   = Toronto
 | date       = October 3, 1980
| page       = 8
}}
</ref> [[James 'Buddy' MacEachern]], a leadership candidate, and MLA  for [[Cape Breton Centre]], was made the interim leader on October 2.<ref name="interim leader"/>

Despite these internecine battles, and not having a seat in the [[Nova Scotia House of Assembly]], McDonough decided to enter the leadership race.  The other candidate in the race to replace Akerman was Arsenault.<ref name="NS Leader">
{{cite news
 | title       = Woman leads Nova Scotia NDP
 | agency      = Canadian Press
 | newspaper   = The Toronto Star
 | location    = Toronto
 | date        = November 17, 1980
| page        = A5
}}
</ref> The leadership convention was convened in Halifax, with the leadership vote held on November 16, 1980.<ref name="NS Leader"/> McDonough received 237 votes, compared to Arsenault's 42 votes, and MacEachern's 41 votes, giving her a first ballot landslide victory.<ref name="NS Leader"/> As a result of her victory, she became the first woman in Canada to lead a major recognized political party.<ref name="stepping down"/><ref name="first woman">
{{cite news
 | url          = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/hamm-mcdonough-named-to-order-of-canada-1.779892
 | title        = Hamm, McDonough named to Order of Canada
 | newspaper    = CBC News
 | location     = Halifax
 | access-date   = April 13, 2014
| date         = December 30, 2009
| archive-url   = https://web.archive.org/web/20100102062230/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/12/30/ns-officers-canada.html
 | archive-date  = January 2, 2010
| url-status      = live
}}
</ref><ref name="NS stepdown">
{{cite news
 | title        = Alexa McDonough steps down
 | first        = Robert
 | last         = Sheppard
 | newspaper    = The Globe and Mail
 | location     = Toronto
 | date         = November 28, 1994
| page         = A15
}}
</ref>

McDonough's first order of business was to settle the Paul MacEwan question. On December 9, 1980, she managed to get her former leadership rivals to vote MacEwan out of the caucus and party.<ref name="MacEwan Expelled">
{{cite news
 | title        = MLA expelled from NDP caucus
 | agency       = Canadian Press
 | newspaper    = The Globe and Mail
 | location     = Toronto
 | date         = December 10, 1980
| page         = 10
 }}
</ref> Since she did not have a seat in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the party was left with just two seats, because MacEwan was now an independent, and Akerman's seat was left vacant due to his resignation. For almost a year, she would sit in the Assembly's visitors gallery until she could run for a seat in the [[1981 Nova Scotia general election]]. McDonough's first provincial  election as leader was fought in the [[Halifax Chebucto]] riding, where the Liberals and Conservatives were more or less evenly matched in terms of voter support, and the NDP was a distant third in the previous election.<ref name="first election">
{{cite web
 | title        = Province of Nova Scotia Election Returns 1981
 | url          = http://electionsnovascotia.ca/sites/default/files/General%20Election%201981.pdf
 | publisher    = Elections Nova Scotia
 | location     = Halifax
 | access-date  = January 1, 2010 
 | date         = June 15, 1982
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140310212300/http://electionsnovascotia.ca/sites/default/files/General%20Election%201981.pdf
 | archive-date = March 10, 2014
 | url-status   = live

}}
</ref>  McDonough won her seat, the first one for the NDP in Mainland Nova Scotia, but the NDP lost all of its [[Cape Breton Island]] seats in the process.<ref name="Lonely Road"/><ref name="Caustic Cape Bretoner"/><ref name="first election"/> She spent the next three years as the only New Democrat, and the only woman in the House of Assembly.<ref name="Pioneering">
{{Cite news
 | last          = Mansour
 | first         = Valerie
 | title         = Pioneering McDonough leaves with no regrets
 | newspaper     = The Toronto Star
 | page          = E9; A20
 | date          = November 27, 1994
| url           = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/518321021.html?dids=518321021:518321021&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+27%2C+1994&author=Valerie+Mansour+SPECIAL+TO+THE+STAR&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=E.9&desc=Pioneering+McDonough+leaves+with+no+regrets+As+NDP+leader+she+took+on+Nova+Scotia%27s+old+boys
 | archive-url   = https://web.archive.org/web/20130314142524/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/518321021.html?dids=518321021:518321021&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+27%2C+1994&author=Valerie+Mansour+SPECIAL+TO+THE+STAR&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=E.9&desc=Pioneering+McDonough+leaves+with+no+regrets+As+NDP+leader+she+took+on+Nova+Scotia%27s+old+boys
 | url-status    = dead
 | archive-date  = March 14, 2013
 | access-date    = January 1, 2010
}}
</ref> She took on the "old boys' network", that permeated Nova Scotia's politics at the time, by attempting to dismantle the province's entrenched patronage system.<ref name="Pioneering"/>

McDonough was personally popular throughout Nova Scotia, consistently being the voters' top choice in leadership polls, but her popularity did not rub off on the party.<ref name="Pioneering"/> She led the party through three more elections, eventually building the caucus up to three members: all from the mainland, including future Nova Scotia NDP leader, [[Robert Chisholm (Canadian politician)|Robert Chisholm]].<ref name="Pioneering"/> After fourteen years as the Nova Scotia NDP leader, which at the time made her the longest-serving leader of a major political party, she stepped down on November 19, 1994.<ref name="shock">{{cite news
 |agency       = Canadian Press
 |title        = McDonough resigns, shocks Nova Scotia NDP
 |newspaper    = The Toronto Star
 |page         = A20
 |date         = November 20, 1994
 |url          = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/518199821.html?dids=518199821:518199821&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+20%2C+1994&author=CP&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=A.20&desc=McDonough+resigns%2C+shocks+Nova+Scotia+NDP
 |access-date  = January 1, 2010
 |archive-date = March 14, 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130314142513/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/518199821.html?dids=518199821:518199821&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+20,+1994&author=CP&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=A.20&desc=McDonough+resigns,+shocks+Nova+Scotia+NDP
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> [[John Holm]], the NDP's [[Sackville-Cobequid]] MLA, took over as interim leader, until Chisholm was elected leader in 1996.<ref name="Pioneering"/><ref name ="Public Lives">
{{cite news
 | last         = Cox
 | first        = Kevin
 | title        = Public Lives: Robert Chisholm
 | newspaper    = The Globe and Mail
 | date         = November 20, 1999
| page         = A22
}}
</ref>

==Federal leadership==
As the fortunes of the Nova Scotia NDP were slowly rising during the mid-1990s, the same could not be said of its federal counterpart. The [[1993 Canadian federal election]] was an unmitigated disaster for the NDP.<ref name="retooling">
{{cite news
 | department     = Editorial
 | title      = Retooling the New Democrats
 | newspaper  = The Globe and Mail
 | location   = Toronto
 | page       = A26
 | date       = October 28, 1993
}}
</ref> Under [[Audrey McLaughlin]]'s leadership, the party suffered its worst defeat since the late 1950s, in terms of seats, when it was then called the CCF.<ref name="retooling"/> When looking at the popular vote, it was the worst ever election for a federal social-democratic party in the 20th century, with just seven percent of the vote.<ref name="retooling"/> The party only had nine seats, three short of the twelve seats needed to have official party status in the House of Commons, and all the extra funding, research, office space and Question Period privileges it accords.<ref name="retooling"/>

In the aftermath of the 1993 election, the party set about reforming its policies and purpose, with McLaughlin announcing on April 18, 1994, that she would step down as leader by 1996.<ref name="Audrey resigns">
{{cite news
 | last       = Delacourt
 | first      = Susan
 | title      = NDP plans to redesign the left: McLaughlin to give up helm
 | newspaper  = The Globe and Mail
 | location   = Toronto
 | pages      = A1, A6
 | date       = April 19, 1994
}}
</ref> McLaughlin, faced with internal squabbles similar to those that occurred in the Nova Scotia party back in 1980, advanced her departure from the end of 1996 to the end of 1995.<ref name="style">
{{cite news
 | last       = Howard
 | first      = Ross
 | title      = NDP sets new style for leadership race
 | newspaper  = The Globe and Mail
 | location   = Toronto
 | pages      = A1, A2
 | date       = January 23, 1995
}}
</ref> With an internal party atmosphere that could best be described as toxic,<ref name=Caragata>{{cite magazine|last=Caragata|first=Warren|date=October 23, 1995|title=Stunning ending|url=http://archive.macleans.ca/article/1995/10/23/stunning-ending|magazine=Maclean's|location=Toronto|access-date=January 15, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921164333/http://archive.macleans.ca/article/1995/10/23/stunning-ending|archivedate=September 21, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>  McDonough entered the leadership race in the spring of 1995. The conditions were similar to the ones she faced during her first leadership campaign in 1980: a divided party that was self-immolating.<ref name=Caragata/>  However, the party was also hobbled by unpopular provincial NDP governments in [[Ontario]] and [[British Columbia]].  Indeed, the NDP had suffered particularly severe losses in those two provinces at the federal level in 1993, losing all of its Ontario MPs,<ref name="Historica McLaughlin"/> and all but two of its British Columbia MPs,{{sfn|Hill|2002|p=xvi}} more than half of its caucus.<ref name=Caragata/>

Prior to the [[1995 New Democratic Party leadership election|NDP leadership convention]] on October 14, 1995, McDonough was widely viewed as an also-ran behind the leading contenders, [[Svend Robinson]] and [[Lorne Nystrom]], but at the convention she placed second on the first ballot, ahead of Nystrom in what was almost a three-way split.<ref name="Second Fiddle">
{{cite news
 | title      = Second fiddle leads NDP: McDonough wins, Robinson gives in
 | first      = Hugh
 | last       = Windsor
 | newspaper  = The Globe and Mail
 | location   = Toronto
 | date       = October 16, 1995
| pages      = A1, A5
}}
</ref> Although Robinson had placed first on that ballot, he felt that most of Nystrom's supporters would go to McDonough on the second ballot, giving her the victory.<ref name="Second Fiddle"/> Thus, he conceded to McDonough before a second ballot could be held. On a motion by Robinson, the convention formally acclaimed McDonough as the party's new leader.<ref name="Second Fiddle"/> McDonough became the first person from Atlantic Canada to lead a major party since [[Robert Stanfield]] retired as the Progressive Conservatives' leader in 1976.<ref name=Stanfield>
{{cite news
 | last       = Johnson
 | first      = William
 | title      = Feuding must end, Stanfield cautions in a blunt farewell
 | newspaper  = The Globe and Mail
 | date       = February 21, 1976
 | location   = Toronto
 | pages      = 1–2
}}
</ref> Unusually for a major-party leader, she did not have one of her MPs in a safe seat resign so she could get into Parliament via a by-election, opting instead to make a third bid for her home riding of Halifax in the next general election.<ref name="Historica bio"/>

In the [[1997 Canadian federal election|1997 election]], her first as leader, the party won 21 seats.  This included a historic breakthrough in the Atlantic provinces, a region where it had only won three seats in its entire history prior to 1997.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Bergman|first1=Brian|last2=Wood|first2=Chris|last3=Janigan|first3=Mary|last4=Wilson-Smith|first4=Anthony|last5=Branswell|first5=Brenda|last6=Isler|first6=Dale|editor-last=|editor-first=|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|title=Elections Leaves Country Fractured|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/elections-leaves-country-fractured|date=March 17, 2003|access-date=January 15, 2022|volume=|publisher=Historica Canada}}</ref>  McDonough herself won Halifax by 11,000 votes, pushing Liberal incumbent [[Mary Clancy]] into third place.<ref name="LoP Halifax"/>  She would continue to win it consecutively three more times until she retired from politics in 2008.<ref name="LoP Halifax"/><ref name="04 and 06 results"/>

During the next few years, McDonough's leadership of the party elicited controversy.<ref name="tightrope">
{{cite news
 | last       = Lawton
 | first      = Valerie
 | title      = Leader walks NDP along a tightrope
 | newspaper  = The Toronto Star
 | page       = A7
 | date       = August 27, 1999
| access-date = December 31, 2009
| url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427889811.html?dids=427889811:427889811&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+27%2C+1999&author=Valerie+Lawton&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=1&desc=Leader+walks+NDP+along+a+tightrope+%3B+McDonough%27s+push+to+revitalize+languishing+party+could+%27destroy%27+it
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130314142558/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427889811.html?dids=427889811:427889811&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+27%2C+1999&author=Valerie+Lawton&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=1&desc=Leader+walks+NDP+along+a+tightrope+%3B+McDonough%27s+push+to+revitalize+languishing+party+could+%27destroy%27+it
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = March 14, 2013
}}
</ref> Union leaders were lukewarm in their support of her, often threatening to break away from the NDP, in particular the [[Canadian Auto Workers]]' president [[Buzz Hargrove]].<ref name="Zolf">
{{cite news
 | last        = Zolf
 | first       = Larry
 | title       = Alexa the Great
 | location    = Toronto
 | publisher   = [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]
 | date        = June 6, 2002
| url         = http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_zolf/20020606.html
 | access-date  = December 31, 2009
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20031030135625/http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_zolf/20020606.html
 | archive-date = October 30, 2003
| url-status     = dead
}}
</ref> She was widely seen within the NDP as trying to pull the party toward the centre of the political spectrum, in the [[Third Way (centrism)|Third Way]] mode of [[Tony Blair]]<ref name="right course">{{cite news
 |last         = Lawton
 |first        = Valerie
 |title        = Is the NDP on the right course?
 |newspaper    = The Toronto Star
 |pages        = B1, B4
 |date         = August 22, 1999
 |url          = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427883421.html?dids=427883421:427883421&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+22%2C+1999&author=Valerie+Lawton&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=1&desc=Is+the+NDP+on+the+right+course%3F
 |access-date  = December 31, 2009
 |archive-date = March 14, 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130314142612/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427883421.html?dids=427883421%3A427883421&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT&type=current&date=Aug+22%2C+1999&author=Valerie+Lawton&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=1&desc=Is+the+NDP+on+the+right+course%3F
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> although when she made her leader's speech at the party's August 1999 Ottawa policy convention, she attempted to distance herself from "Third Way" policies by stating: "We must lay out a new way for Canadians to navigate in the 21st century. Not an old way, not a 'third way', but a made-in-Canada way...."<ref name="new way">
{{cite news
 | last       = Lawton
 | first      = Valerie
 | title      = NDP endorses tax cuts as leader backs 'new way'
 | newspaper  = The Toronto Star
 | page       = A13
 | date       = August 28, 1999
| url        = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427893651.html?dids=427893651:427893651&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+28%2C+1999&author=Valerie+Lawton&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=1&desc=NDP+endorses+tax+cuts+as+leader+backs+%27new+way%27+%3B+But+some+critics+at+party+convention+slam+rightward+shift
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130314140951/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427893651.html?dids=427893651:427893651&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+28%2C+1999&author=Valerie+Lawton&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=1&desc=NDP+endorses+tax+cuts+as+leader+backs+%27new+way%27+%3B+But+some+critics+at+party+convention+slam+rightward+shift
 | url-status = dead
 | archive-date = March 14, 2013
 | access-date = December 31, 2009
}}
</ref> A vote on a resolution to adopt Third Way policies in the party's platform formally was defeated, as many union leaders opposed it and McDonough's "Canadian Way".<ref name="stray">
{{cite news
 | last       = Lawton
 | first      = Valerie
 | title      = Should NDP stray from its traditions?
 | newspaper  = The Toronto Star
 | page       = A9
 | date       = August 29, 1999
| access-date = December 31, 2009
| url        = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427893651.html?dids=427893651:427893651&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+28%2C+1999&author=Valerie+Lawton&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=1&desc=NDP+endorses+tax+cuts+as+leader+backs+%27new+way%27+%3B+But+some+critics+at+party+convention+slam+rightward+shift
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130314140951/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427893651.html?dids=427893651:427893651&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+28%2C+1999&author=Valerie+Lawton&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=1&desc=NDP+endorses+tax+cuts+as+leader+backs+%27new+way%27+%3B+But+some+critics+at+party+convention+slam+rightward+shift
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = March 14, 2013
}}
</ref>

The [[Canadian Alliance]] and its new leader, [[Stockwell Day]], presented a further challenge to McDonough's NDP. Fearful of the prospect of an Alliance government, many NDP supporters moved to the Liberals.<ref name="Alliance">{{cite news
 |last         = Herbert
 |first        = Chantal
 |title        = A lesson in how to bow out gracefully
 |newspaper    = The Toronto Star
 |page         = A6
 |date         = June 6, 2002
 |access-date  = January 3, 2010
 |url          = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/421894691.html?dids=421894691:421894691&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+6%2C+2002&author=Chantal+Hebert&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=A.06&desc=A+lesson+in+how+to+bow+out+gracefully
 |archive-date = March 14, 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130314142546/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/421894691.html?dids=421894691:421894691&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+6,+2002&author=Chantal+Hebert&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=A.06&desc=A+lesson+in+how+to+bow+out+gracefully
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> As well, two NDP MPs, [[Angela Vautour]] and [[Rick Laliberte]],<ref>{{cite news|title=New Democrat MP Vautour moves to the right|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-democrat-mp-vautour-moves-to-the-right-1.192440|date=September 27, 1999|access-date=January 15, 2022|publisher=CBC News}}</ref><ref name="CBC Laliberte">{{cite news|title=NDP MP defects to Liberal party|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ndp-mp-defects-to-liberal-party-1.205152|date=September 28, 2000|access-date=January 15, 2022|publisher=CBC News}}</ref> [[crossing the floor|crossed the floor]] to other party caucuses, reducing the NDP caucus to 19 seats.<ref name="CBC Laliberte"/> In the [[2000 Canadian federal election|2000 federal election]], the NDP was held to just 13 seats, and its 8.5 percent of the popular vote, was near its historic low from the 1993 campaign.<ref name="Alliance"/> About the only solace the NDP and McDonough could take from the 2000 campaign was that they kept official party status in the House of Commons (if only barely),<ref name="Historica bio">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Whitehorn|first=Alan|editor-last=|editor-first=|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|title=Alexa McDonough|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/alexa-mcdonough|date=March 11, 2010|access-date=January 15, 2022|volume=|publisher=Historica Canada}}</ref> unlike McLaughlin in the 1993 campaign.<ref name="Historica McLaughlin">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Whitehorn|first=Alan|editor-last=|editor-first=|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|title=Audrey McLaughlin|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/audrey-mclaughlin|date=February 13, 2008|access-date=January 15, 2022|volume=|publisher=Historica Canada}}</ref>

After the disappointing performance in the 2000 federal election, there were more calls for party renewal. Some party activists perceived that the NDP had moved to the centre of the political spectrum and wanted to change that by bringing in social/political activists outside of the parliamentary process. They called their movement the [[New Politics Initiative]], or NPI.<ref name= "NPI/NDProgress">
{{cite news
 | title     = So, really, what's the NDP?
 | first     = Jeffrey
 | last      = Simpson
 | newspaper = The Globe and Mail
 | location  = Toronto
 | date      = November 23, 2001
| page      = A15
}}
</ref> Another group, called [[NDProgress]], wanted to reform the party's internal structures, with procedural changes to how leaders were elected and limiting how much control Labour Unions had in the party.<ref name= "NPI/NDProgress"/>  The NPI proposal to create a new party from the ashes of the NDP, was opposed by McDonough, and by former NDP leader, Ed Broadbent.<ref name= "NDProgress">
{{cite news
 | title     = The NDP's union links: shaken but not severed
 | first     = Jeffrey
 | last      = Simpson
 | newspaper = The Globe and Mail
 | location  = Toronto
 | date      = November 27, 2001
| page = A17
}}
</ref> The NPI resolution was voted down when it was presented at the party's November 2001 Winnipeg policy convention.<ref name="reject left turn">{{cite news
 |last         = Lawton
 |first        = Valerie
 |title        = NDP rejects demands for new left-wing party
 |newspaper    = The Toronto Star
 |page         = A3
 |date         = November 25, 2001
 |access-date  = December 31, 2009
 |url          = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/426219471.html?dids=426219471:426219471&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+25%2C+2001&author=Valerie+Lawton&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=A.03&desc=NDP+rejects+demands+for+new+left-wing+party
 |archive-date = March 14, 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130314142622/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/426219471.html?dids=426219471:426219471&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+25,+2001&author=Valerie+Lawton&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=A.03&desc=NDP+rejects+demands+for+new+left-wing+party
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> NDProgress's resolution to have a "one member one vote" election for party leader, with a provision to limit organized labour's allotment of ballots to a maximum of 25 percent, passed.<ref name="NDProgress"/> The 2001 Winnipeg convention was also where McDonough easily defeated a leadership challenge by [[New Democratic Party Socialist Caucus|Socialist Caucus]] member Marcel Hatch, who was also an NPI supporter.<ref name="still rules">
{{cite news
 | agency     = Canadian Press
 | title      = McDonough fends off leadership challenge
 | newspaper  = The Globe and Mail
 | location   = Toronto
 | date       = November 25, 2001 }}</ref>

The issue that highlighted McDonough's federal leadership, occurred during the twilight of her career: the fight against [[Islamophobia]] and general anti-Arab sentiment, which swept through Canada and the United States in the wake of the [[September 11 attacks|9/11]] attacks in September 2001. She led the charge on the national scene to repatriate [[Mahar Arar]], an Arab-Canadian who was wrongly detained as a terrorist by United States border officials, on an erroneous tip from Canada's secret service.<ref name="Monia Mazigh">{{cite news
 |last         = Gordon
 |first        = Mary
 |title        = NDP hopes renew
 |newspaper    = The Toronto Star
 |page         = F1
 |date         = April 3, 2004
 |access-date  = January 3, 2010
 |url          = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/602611611.html?dids=602611611:602611611&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+3%2C+2004&author=Mary+Gordon&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=F.01&desc=NDP+hopes+renewed
 |archive-date = March 14, 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130314142631/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/602611611.html?dids=602611611:602611611&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+3,+2004&author=Mary+Gordon&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=F.01&desc=NDP+hopes+renewed
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> Throughout 2002 and 2003, McDonough campaigned for his release.<ref name="Monia Mazigh"/> When he was released, his wife, [[Monia Mazigh]], joined the NDP and became a candidate for them in the 2004 federal election, out of recognition for the support McDonough and the party showed for her and her husband.<ref name="Monia Mazigh"/>

With [[Brian Masse]]'s May 2002 by-election victory, in the [[Windsor West (federal electoral district)|Windsor West]] riding, the party's caucus grew to 14 members.<ref>{{cite news|title=Opposition well-armed for Commons return|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/opposition-well-armed-for-commons-return-1.312180|date=May 21, 2002|access-date=January 15, 2022|publisher=CBC News}}</ref> A few weeks later, on June 5, 2002, McDonough used this positive turn in electoral fortunes to announce that she was stepping down as NDP leader.<ref name="stepping down"/> On January 25, 2003, at the [[2003 New Democratic Party leadership election|Toronto leadership convention]], she was succeeded by [[Jack Layton]].<ref name="Historica bio"/>  She was re-elected to Parliament in the [[2004 Canadian federal election|2004 federal election]] and again in [[2006 Canadian federal election|2006]].<ref name="LoP Halifax"/><ref name="04 and 06 results"/> In the NDP's [[shadow cabinet]], McDonough served as the critic for International Development, International Cooperation and Peace Advocacy.<ref name="LoP Halifax"/>

==Retirement==
On June 2, 2008, McDonough announced that she would not run again in the riding of Halifax in the next federal election. She made the announcement at the [[Lord Nelson Hotel]], the same place where she celebrated her 1997 victory as the MP for Halifax. McDonough said that she would continue on as the MP for Halifax until the [[2008 Canadian federal election|next federal election]].<ref name="retire">{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-mp-alexa-mcdonough-announces-retirement-1.703579 |title=Halifax MP Alexa McDonough announces retirement |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=April 13, 2014 |date=June 2, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140413044747/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-mp-alexa-mcdonough-announces-retirement-1.703579| archive-date= April 13, 2014 | url-status= live}}</ref>

On June 29, 2009, it was announced that McDonough was named the new interim president of [[Mount Saint Vincent University]], in Halifax, [[Nova Scotia]]. Her one-year appointment began in August 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mcdonough-named-interim-president-of-msvu-1.822062 |title=McDonough named interim president of MSVU |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=April 13, 2014 |date=June 29, 2009}}</ref> It was announced on December 30, 2009, that she was to be appointed an officer of the [[Order of Canada]] for her pioneering work as both the Nova Scotia and Federal leader of the New Democratic Party.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ms. Alexa McDonough|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-12506|access-date=January 15, 2022|publisher=The Governor General of Canada}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13469l |title=Order of Canada – Appointments: The Governor General announces 57 new appointments to the Order of Canada |publisher=[[Governor General of Canada]] |access-date=December 30, 2009 |date=December 30, 2009}}</ref> She received an honorary  Doctor of Civil Laws degree from [[Acadia University]], in [[Wolfville]], Nova Scotia on May 13, 2012.<ref name="Acadia Honorary Degree 2012">{{cite news|last=Parker |first=Glen |title=Political trailblazer McDonough to receive honorary degree |url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/95794-political-trailblazer-mcdonough-to-receive-honorary-degree |access-date=May 13, 2012 |newspaper=[[The Chronicle Herald]] |date=May 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413154818/http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/95794-political-trailblazer-mcdonough-to-receive-honorary-degree |archive-date=April 13, 2014 |location=Halifax |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
McDonough's only marriage was in 1966<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca/obituaries/halifax-ns/alexa-mcdonough-10529124|title=Alexa McDonough Obituary – Halifax, NS}}</ref> to Halifax lawyer, Peter McDonough (April 1, 1940 – November 17, 2021), with whom she had two sons: Justin and Travis.<ref name="retire"/> In 1993, she separated from McDonough, later divorcing him; she said her political career did not play a part in it.<ref name="Pioneering"/><ref name="retire"/> In 1994, just before she stepped down as Nova Scotia leader, she had a hysterectomy, and waited until she recuperated before she announced her resignation.<ref name="Pioneering"/> During her time as leader of the federal NDP, McDonough was romantically involved with [[David MacDonald (Canadian politician)|David MacDonald]], a former [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]] (PC) MP for [[Toronto Centre|Toronto Centre—Rosedale]] and a cabinet minister.<ref name="Sheppard">{{cite news |title=You call that endurance? |first=Robert |last=Sheppard |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] |location=Toronto |date=April 14, 1997 |pages=A13}}</ref> MacDonald ran as the NDP candidate in Toronto Centre—Rosedale in the [[1997 Canadian federal election|1997 election]]; in the previous election, he was the PC incumbent, and like every other PC candidate in Ontario in [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993]], was defeated.<ref name=Sheppard /> The pair split up prior to the [[2004 Canadian federal election|2004 federal election]].<ref name="MP Retirement Interview">
{{cite news
 |author1     = Ottawa Citizen Staff
 |title       = Alexa McDonough reflects on time and change as she eases into life after politics: So how are you feeling?
 |url         = http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=717043ad-a767-4302-a69c-a4ceaefa41fe
 |access-date  = May 12, 2015
|work        = Ottawa Citizen
 |date        = October 4, 2008
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20150526225219/http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=717043ad-a767-4302-a69c-a4ceaefa41fe
 |archive-date = May 26, 2015
|location    = Ottawa
 |url-status     = dead
 |df          = mdy
}}
</ref>

On May 3, 2013, McDonough announced that she had been diagnosed with [[breast cancer]] about four months earlier during a [[mammogram]]. She had been receiving treatment.<ref>{{cite news
| author      = CBC News Staff
| title       = Former NDP leader Alexa McDonough fighting breast cancer
| url         = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/former-ndp-leader-alexa-mcdonough-fighting-breast-cancer-1.1407105
| publisher   = [[CBC News]]
| access-date  = May 3, 2013
| date        = May 3, 2013
| archive-date = January 6, 2017
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20170106173533/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/former-ndp-leader-alexa-mcdonough-fighting-breast-cancer-1.1407105
| url-status     = live
}}
</ref>

McDonough died at a long-term care home in Halifax, on January 15, 2022, at the age of 77. She suffered from [[Alzheimer's disease]] in the seven years prior to her death.<ref name="CBC obit">{{cite news
| author      = Laroche, Jean
| title       = Alexa McDonough, former NDP leader and trailblazer for women in politics, has died
| url         = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/alexa-mcdonough-death-ndp-women-in-politics-1.6314981
| publisher   = [[CBC News]]
| access-date  = January 15, 2022
| date        = January 15, 2022
| archive-date = January 15, 2022
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115125507/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/alexa-mcdonough-death-ndp-women-in-politics-1.6314981
| url-status     = live
}}
</ref>

== Electoral record ==
{{2006 Canadian federal election/Halifax}}
<small>Source:<ref name="04 and 06 results">{{cite web|title=Past results – Halifax (Nova Scotia)|url=https://www.elections.ca/Scripts/VIS/HistoricalResults/12004_e.html|accessdate=January 15, 2022|publisher=Elections Canada|location=Gatineau}}</ref><ref name="LoP Halifax">{{cite web|title=Profile – Halifax, Nova Scotia (1867-08-06 – )|url=https://lop.parl.ca/sites/ParlInfo/default/en_CA/ElectionsRidings/Ridings/Profile?OrganizationId=3479|accessdate=January 15, 2022|publisher=Library of Parliament|location=Ottawa, Canada}}</ref></small>
{{2004 Canadian federal election/Halifax}}
<small>Source:<ref name="04 and 06 results"/><ref name="LoP Halifax"/></small>
{{2000 Canadian federal election/Halifax}}
<small>Source:<ref name="LoP Halifax"/>{{sfn|Hill|2002|p=35}}</small>
{{1997 Canadian federal election/Halifax}}
<small>Source:<ref name="LoP Halifax"/>{{sfn|Hill|2002|p=35}}</small>
{{1980 Canadian federal election/Halifax}}
{{1979 Canadian federal election/Halifax}}
<small>Source:<ref name="LoP Halifax"/></small>

==References==
'''Specific'''
{{reflist}}
'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|title=Canadian Politics, Riding by Riding: An In-depth Analysis of Canada's 301 Federal Electoral Districts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=opvmE2AExc8C|publisher=Prospect Park Press|year=2002|last=Hill|first=Tony L.|isbn=9780972343602 | oclc=50401264}}
* {{cite book | last=Kimber | first=Stephen | title=Alexa! : changing the face of Canadian politics | publication-place=Fredericton, New Brunswick | date=2021 | isbn=978-1-77310-195-8 | oclc=1184240410}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=15550}}

{{NDP}}
{{Nova Scotia NDP Leaders}}
{{Canadian federal election, 2000A}}
{{Canadian federal election, 1997A}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonough, Alexa}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian women politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian women politicians]]
[[Category:Canadian Baptists]]
[[Category:Canadian activists]]
[[Category:Canadian university and college chief executives]]
[[Category:Canadian women activists]]
[[Category:Dalhousie University alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Canada]]
[[Category:Female Canadian political party leaders]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Nova Scotia CCF/NDP]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Mount Saint Vincent University]]
[[Category:NDP and CCF leaders]]
[[Category:Deaths from dementia in Canada]]
[[Category:New Democratic Party MPs]]
[[Category:Nova Scotia New Democratic Party MLAs]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Politicians from Ottawa]]
[[Category:Women MLAs in Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Women members of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly]]