Cecil Clarke

Cecil Phillip Clarke (born April 12, 1968) is a politician in Nova Scotia, Canada. He was the mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality from 2012 to 2020, and represented the riding of Cape Breton North in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, from 2001 to 2011 as a Progressive Conservative.

For the soldier and inventor, see Cecil Vandepeer Clarke.
The Honourable

Cecil Clarke
Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly
In office
June 29, 2006 – October 23, 2007
PremierRodney MacDonald
Lieutenant GovernorMyra Freeman
Mayann Francis
Preceded byMurray Scott
Succeeded byAlfie MacLeod
Member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly
for Cape Breton North
In office
March 6, 2001 – March 25, 2011
Preceded byRussell MacLellan
Succeeded byEddie Orrell
Mayor of Cape Breton Regional Municipality
In office
November 5, 2012 – October 17, 2020
Preceded byJohn W. Morgan
Succeeded byAmanda McDougall
Personal details
Born (1968-04-12) April 12, 1968
North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative
ResidenceSydney Mines, Nova Scotia, Canada

Before politics

Born in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Clarke graduated with a bachelor's degree from Mount Allison University in 1990.

Political career

In the 1997 federal election, Clarke made his first attempt at entering politics, running as the Progressive Conservative candidate in Sydney—Victoria.[1] He finished third behind New Democrat Peter Mancini, and Liberal Vince MacLean.[2] Clarke turned to provincial politics and was elected in a March 2001 byelection.[3][4] He was re-elected in the 2003,[5] 2006[6] and 2009 general elections.[7] He served in the Executive Council of Nova Scotia as Minister of Economic Development, Minister of Energy,[8] Attorney General and Minister of Justice.[9] Clarke was Speaker of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia from June 2006 to October 2007.

In July 2010, Clarke announced that he was seeking the federal Conservative nomination for the riding of Sydney—Victoria.[10] On March 25, 2011, Clarke resigned his seat in the Nova Scotia legislature so he could run for the Conservatives in the 2011 federal election.[11][12] On May 2, 2011, Clarke was defeated in his bid for a seat in the House of Commons of Canada by Liberal incumbent Mark Eyking.[13]

On September 6, 2012, Clarke announced that he was entering the race for mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in the 2012 Nova Scotia municipal elections.[14] On October 20, 2012, Clarke was elected mayor.[15] He assumed office on November 5, 2012.[16]

Clarke was re-elected mayor in the 2016 municipal election.[17]

Clarke was criticized in early 2018 for a trip to China which cost taxpayers over $30,000 and included first-class tickets for himself.[18]

In 2018, Clarke came out as gay, revealing that someone had threatened to out him.[19]

On February 3, 2018, Clarke announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia.[20] He lost to Tim Houston.

References
  1. "Sydney-Victoria PCs nominate consultant". The Chronicle Herald. May 2, 1997. Archived from the original on December 19, 2000. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  2. "Mancini promises to fight for jobs". The Chronicle Herald. June 3, 1997. Archived from the original on November 30, 2001. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  3. "Tories win Cape Breton North". CBC News. March 7, 2001. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  4. "By-election Returns, 2001 (Cape Breton North)" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  5. "Election Returns, 2003 (Cape Breton North)" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  6. "Election Returns, 2006 (Cape Breton North)" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  7. "Election Returns, 2009 (Cape Breton North)" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  8. "New faces, new jobs among 15 in cabinet". The Chronicle Herald. August 16, 2003. Archived from the original on January 24, 2005. Retrieved 2014-09-26.
  9. "Cabinet shuffle see Clarke become attorney general and justice minister". Cape Breton Post. October 23, 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  10. "MLA Clarke eyes federal seat". CBC News. July 29, 2010. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  11. "MLA Clarke resigns to run federally". CBC News. March 25, 2011. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  12. "Clarke to carry Tory hopes". The Chronicle Herald. March 28, 2011.
  13. "Eyking wins Sydney-Victoria seat in close race against Clarke". Cape Breton Post. May 2, 2011. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  14. "Former MLA runs for Cape Breton mayor's seat". CBC News. September 6, 2012. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  15. "Cecil Clarke wins mayoral bid in Cape Breton". CBC News. October 20, 2012. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  16. "Clarke and new CBRM council sworn in". Cape Breton Post. November 5, 2012. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  17. "Clarke wins tight race". Cape Breton Post. October 15, 2016. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
  18. "Cost of CBRM mayor's trip to China under the microscope". Atlantic. 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  19. "'I'm a public person with a very private life,' says Cecil Clarke, announcing he's gay". CBC News. February 1, 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  20. "Cecil Clarke becomes 3rd candidate to enter PC leadership race". CBC News. February 3, 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
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