Key takeaways:
- McDonough transformed the face of politics in Canada and paved the way for other females to pursue.
- Through archival material collected from the previous 40 years, McDonough explains her beliefs, her inspirations and her visions for Canada.
The former NDP leader dies at the age of 77:
Alexa McDonough, whose leadership of the Nova Scotia NDP in 1980 earned her the first female to direct a significant political party in Canada, has expired at the age of 77.
McDonough, who also became the leader of the federal New Democratic Party in 1995, passed at a care home in Halifax on Saturday after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease, her family stated.
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Known affectionately as just Alexa, McDonough transformed the face of politics in Canada and paved the way for other females to take their places at the heights of political power. She was a motivation to generations of New Democrats even after she quit politics 14 years ago.
The one-time social worker’s desire for social justice took her first to the Liberal Party of Nova Scotia, where she assisted to craft the party’s social policy platform in the 1970 regional election. But by 1974, disappointed with the government of then-premier Gerald Regan, she discovered a new residence in the NDP and never left.
