Former Nova Scotia premier Robert Stanfield is sometimes referred to as the best prime minister Canada never had.
Could Karla MacFarlane be the best leadership candidate the provincial Progressive Conservatives don’t have on Saturday’s ballot?
“I don’t know about that,” the second-term MLA for Pictou West said with a chuckle.
MacFarlane, 49, is content with having served as interim PC leader since Jamie Baillie was forced to resign as leader in January in the wake of an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
“I knew when I was voted in by my colleagues that I would be taking on the responsibility of not just looking after the caucus office but not being able to run,” she said of the interim title precluding her candidacy for the permanent job.
Knowing that Baillie would not lead the party into another provincial election, MacFarlane said there were discussions in the summer of 2017 about who could take over the job.
“There were a number of individuals who came to me and said you should start considering if you would be interested in running. I gave it a lot of thought that summer but by September I had made my decision that I would not be running.”
Family time
The single mother points to two prevailing reasons for her decision — daughter Chloe and son Jack.
“I always say to people that I love this job and I put every effort into being the best MLA I can be,” MacFarlane said. “But I will still go to my grave guilty of the things that I have missed, family wise. My daughter is third year university and my son is in Grade 11 and I felt that until he graduates, I could not take on anything more. It absolutely is, at the end of the day, about family.”
Chloe, 20, is studying science at Mount Royal University in Calgary while Jack attends Northumberland High in Pictou West.
MacFarlane’s ex-husband, Andrew, lives close to her centuries-old home in historic downtown Pictou. The two have remained close and he has been a hands-on father who is very involved in his children’s lives.
“I’m very lucky that my ex-husband and I are still great friends and he lives a couple of blocks away. I say that I am a single parent but really I’m not.”
MacFarlane said when the House is in session, her MLA, caucus and committee duties take her to Halifax five days a week.
“I don’t look for sympathy but I think when you are on your own and running a household on your own, I’m not going home at the end of the day where supper is on the table or the banking is done, or the drycleaners or the groceries have been bought. I think I have a lot on my plate with still two young adults who need me and of course, making sure that my priority is always with them.”
No favourites
MacFarlane has nothing but good things to say about the five candidates on Saturday’s ballot — Julie Chaisson, Cecil Clarke, Tim Houston, John Lohr and Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin.
“We have five candidates who have been working extremely hard. There is no denying their energy and their dedication and their teams behind them in moving forward. I am to remain neutral and I think what my role has been since January is to be that glue, that leader, that holds the team together. We went through some extremely challenging times, moving into this role as interim leader was difficult in itself but I took the role on, I took the responsibility very seriously, I gave it my best shot and I feel that I have accomplished being that glue that held us together.”
MacFarlane said the party followed protocol in dealing with the resignation of Baillie, who was uncontested in ascending to the party leadership in August 2010.
“It was a professional, legal investigation,” she said. The party has moved on and Saturday’s vote will close the book on Baillie.
MacFarlane said integrity and accessibility are key characteristics sought in a new party leader.
“Integrity for me is about always being honest, regardless of knowing that the people you are speaking to may not agree with you. But I think that they would rather that they not agree with you and know that you are honest rather than trying to sit on the fence. I am not someone who sits on the fence and I hope that our next leader will (be the same). I think it’s important that they collect the facts and discuss it and then they make a decision.”`
MacFarlane`s interest in politics was sparked by serving as student council president at West Pictou District High. She recalls a short political disconnect while attending Husson University in Maine and working for the provincial Tourism Department in Portland, Me.
“When I moved back (to Pictou) in my late 20s, I ended up working some elections. For the next decade or so, I was always the official agent or the treasurer, or the secretary for the Pictou West PC Association. Often I had been asked, you should run, you should run. I absolutely knew that in my 30s, that my children were still too young.”
But when she was approached by the PC party in 2012, MacFarlane thought the time was right to throw her hat in the ring. Attracting a solid political team and knocking on more than 5,000 Pictou West doors resulted in her 2013 election and a stronger mandate in the 2017 vote.
“I worked hard, I worked seven days a week and I missed a lot of things, a lot of my children’s sports and school events and just spending time at home with them. My children are fabulous and I think because I had such a great foundation with them and always owned my own business, I was always flexible. I had never missed a soccer game or a dentist’s appointment or anything leading up to this job so there is a good solid foundation there with my children. They have been so, so co-operative and encouraging and are very easy to please. I am very lucky to have children like that.”
In 2018, the time was not right for a MacFarlane leadership bid. She said there were discussions with her fellow party MLAs in Pictou County — Houston and Pat Dunn — but she did not concede that her decision not to run was influenced by the leadership aspirations of Houston, the perceived front-runner.
MacFarlane said she will run again for her Pictou West seat and did not outrightly dismiss a future kick at the leadership can.
“Depending on the dynamics or the situations that come forward with the PC party, I certainly wouldn’t rule it out. It’s not something that’s on my radar right now. Again, I am just looking forward to working with the next leader right now but sure, who knows what the future brings. It’s a mystery.”
Related:
