As Peter MacKay announced he was stepping away from politics in May 2015, then prime minister Stephen Harper gave a somewhat personal speech at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton.
He joked about MacKay’s former rating as “sexiest male MP,” but also revealed how they had talked about family more than once.
“I always told him a good bachelor life is no match for a good married life, and no match for a good family life,” Harper said at the time.
For the last four years, MacKay, who announced on Twitter this week that he will be joining the Conservative leadership race, has been pursuing just that.
When MacKay first announced he was stepping away from politics his son, Kian, was two and his wife Nazanin Afshin-Jam was expecting their second child, Valentia, who would be born in September 2015. They welcomed a third child, Caledon, into their home on July 28, 2018.
On social media you’ll find pictures of MacKay celebrating Christmas with his family, trick or treating at Halloween and at the ball field – home life. He’s even featured in a book called “Forty Fathers” by Tessa Lloyd.
At the same time, though, it’s clear MacKay isn’t your ordinary dad.
Scroll through his tweets from the post-political period and you’ll find pictures of him with prominent people such as U.S. Senator John McCain and former PM Brian Mulroney. There’s tweets from forums he’s been invited to speak at and international events he’s attended.
Since leaving politics, MacKay, now 54, has been working at the law firm of Baker McKenzie in Toronto where, according to the company website, he provides strategic advice to Canadian companies doing business globally and international companies doing business in Canada.
At the same time, he’s maintained a presence in the political world both federally and provincially, endorsing Pictou East MLA Tim Houston’s campaign for the Progressive Conservative leadership in Nova Scotia and assisting Tory candidates in the October 2019 federal election.
“Peter believes that it's challenging to combine fatherhood with political life, so I know that he will have pondered this decision to lead the Conservatives long and hard."
While few, if any, are surprised to see him walk back into the political arena, those closest to him say it wasn’t without much deliberation.
George Canyon, who ran for the Conservatives in Peter MacKay’s riding of Central Nova in the last election, is a friend of MacKay’s and has remained in regular contact with him, particularly over the last few weeks.
He said it’s been great to watch as MacKay has embraced family life. Often Canyon would receive texts from MacKay showing pictures from hockey practice with the kids. In some ways he believes fatherhood changed MacKay’s perspective — like it does for all parents.
“When you get married and you have children, the way you look at life completely changes,” Canyon said. “It matures a person in a way that you can’t describe, or others can’t appreciate until they’re in those shoes.”
Should MacKay become Conservative leader — and possibly prime minister — Canyon believes that perspective will only make him a better person.
MacKay asked the country music star recently about his own experience balancing travel for work and family life.
“It’s all about quality time,” Canyon advised MacKay.
He, for one, is glad to see MacKay enter the race.
“Your family needs you and the country needs you,” he says he’s told MacKay.
Author Tessa Lloyd first got to meet MacKay while writing “Forty Fathers,” and said it was very moving to interview him about parenthood and take pictures of him with his family in Toronto.
“Peter believes that it's challenging to combine fatherhood with political life, so I know that he will have pondered this decision to lead the Conservatives long and hard. If it's right for him, it will be right for the Conservative Party,” she said. “I know that he will be an awesome leader and continue to be an awesome father at the same time.”
Like Canyon, she believes parenthood will have only improved MacKay.
“I believe that becoming a father gave Peter a distinctly broader perspective on life, one that has allowed him to become a healthier and more whole human being.”
St. Francis Xavier University political science professor Dr. Doug Brown believes, in some ways, the time away from politics may have been beneficial for MacKay from a political standpoint as well.
“I think he’s had a lot more time to think about what kind of a leader he would be,” he said.
And in Canada’s history, there are other examples of people who have left politics only to return. Brown points to former prime minister John Turner as an example.
Given the cyclical nature of politics and the fact that Canadians usually elect governments for two terms, he believes it was wise for MacKay to not run for the leadership immediately after Harper stepped down.
Timing wise, MacKay would be well positioned to win the leadership and potentially the next election, Brown said. For Central Nova and the broader Atlantic Canada, he believes that’s a big deal.
“It’s potentially huge. It’s really important to have a national leader from your region, particularly if they become prime minister.”
But this time MacKay’s return is different in many ways from when he first entered politics.
“He’s not the most eligible bachelor in the house anymore,” says Brown.
RELATED:
- St. FX prof predicts Peter MacKay would win Conservative leadership
- 'I'm in': Peter MacKay announces his entry into Conservative leadership race
- With Andrew Scheer out, will Peter MacKay seek the Conservative leadership?
- 'Too soon to make a decision': but Peter MacKay deliberating on Conservative Party leadership bid
