Nancy MacBeth
{{Short description|Canadian politician (born 1948)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = The Honourable
| name = Nancy MacBeth
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|ECA|size=100%}}
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| office = Leader of the Opposition in Alberta
| term_start = July 7, 1998
| term_end = March 11, 2001
| predecessor = Howard Sapers
| successor = Ken Nicol
| office1 = Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party
| term_start1 = April 18, 1998
| term_end1 = March 15, 2001
| predecessor1 = Grant Mitchell
| successor1 = Ken Nicol
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Alberta Executive Council
|titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office2 = Minister of Health
| premier2 = Don Getty
| term_start2 = September 8, 1988
| term_end2 = December 14, 1992
| predecessor2 = Marvin Moore {{small|(Hospitals and Medical Care)}}
| successor2 = Shirley McClellan
| office3 = Minister of Education
| premier3 = Don Getty
| term_start3 = May 26, 1986
| term_end3 = September 8, 1988
| predecessor3 = Neil Webber
| successor3 = Jim Dinning{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Parliamentary constituencies
|titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office4 = Member of the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
for Edmonton
| term_start4 = June 17, 1998
| term_end4 = March 12, 2001
| predecessor4 = Grant Mitchell
| successor4 = Mark Norris
| constituency4 = Edmonton-McClung
| term_start5 = May 8, 1986
| term_end5 = June 15, 1993
| predecessor5 = Lou Hyndman
| successor5 = Howard Sapers
| constituency5 = Edmonton-Glenora{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
| birth_name = Nancy Elliott
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1948|12|29}}
| birth_place = Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| nationality =
| party = Liberal (1998–present)
| otherparty = Progressive Conservative (1982–1993)
| spouse = Stefan Betkowski
Hilliard MacBeth
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater = University of Alberta
Université Laval
| occupation =
| profession =
| signature =
| website =
}}
Nancy MacBeth {{post-nominals|country=CAN|ECA}} ({{nee}} Elliott; born December 29, 1948) is a Canadian politician who was the leader of the Alberta Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1998 to 2001. She was the first female opposition leader in the province's history.
Early life
Born in Edmonton, Alberta, MacBeth received a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Alberta, in French and Russian; studying Université Laval, studying French Canadian literature. She subsequently worked as an executive assistant for several Alberta cabinet ministers.
Early political career
MacBeth, then known as Nancy Betkowski, first entered electoral politics as an Alberta Progressive Conservative Party Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the riding of Edmonton-Glenora from 1986 to 1993 in the government of Don Getty. She was Minister of Education from 1986 to 1988, and was then appointed Minister of Health, serving in that position until 1992.
She then ran as a candidate in the party's 1992 leadership convention against Ralph Klein. Regarded by the membership as a Red Tory, Betkowski became the preferred candidate of the party establishment. However, Klein's populist appeal won him the leadership, and Betkowski did not stand as a candidate in the 1993 election.
Liberal leader
She subsequently married portfolio manager and financial writer Hilliard MacBeth.
She then returned to politics in 1998, running for the leadership of the Alberta Liberals after the resignation of Grant Mitchell. Elected to be the MLA for Edmonton-McClung, MacBeth tried to capitalize on discontent with Klein's government in some Alberta communities by reaching out to disaffected Red Tories, but proved unable to connect with voters.
In the 2001 provincial election, the Liberals won only seven seats, less than half as many as they had held before the election. Among the losses was MacBeth's own seat of Edmonton-McClung. The election left the party a million dollar debt that took about 10 years to pay off.{{cite web|last=Henton|first=Darcy|title=Liberal Leader Raj Sherman looking for a Prairie miracle|url=https://calgaryherald.com/health/Liberal+Leader+Sherman+looking+Prairie+miracle/5880853/story.html|publisher=Calgary Herald|access-date=December 19, 2011|date=December 19, 2011}}
She left politics again, and was succeeded by Ken Nicol as party leader.{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/macbeth-quits-1.284704|title=MacBeth Quits|publisher=CBC News|date=March 15, 2001|access-date=December 16, 2017}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{ABLOpp}}
{{Alberta Liberal Party}}
{{Getty Ministry}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macbeth, Nancy}}
Category:Alberta Liberal Party MLAs
Category:Female Canadian political party leaders
Category:Leaders of the Alberta Liberal Party
Category:Members of the Executive Council of Alberta
Category:Politicians from Edmonton
Category:Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs
Category:Women MLAs in Alberta
Category:Women government ministers of Canada
Category:Women opposition leaders
Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Category:20th-century Canadian women politicians
Category:21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta