Veteran Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay, 78, has announced his intent to run for a 12th term in Parliament, expressing confidence in his continued role representing Cardigan, Prince Edward Island.“I am prepared for the next election always, and that means working for the constituents of Cardigan,” said MacAulay, who will mark 36 years in Parliament this November. When asked if he planned to run again, he responded, “People have been pretty generous. They have nominated me 11 times, and I am hopeful they will again.”MacAulay, known as the dean of Prince Edward Island MPs, emphasized the spirit of cooperation in his riding. “In our riding, we work together. No matter what we’re doing, we have some difficulties, we work together and try to resolve them — that’s the way we’ve worked for over 30 years.”He offered no specific advice for newer politicians, but his long track record speaks volumes. MacAulay was last re-elected with a 4,358-vote margin. His fellow senior MP, Louis Plamondon of the Bloc Québécois, who has served 40 years, is also expected to seek another term, declaring in the Commons, “I still have two or three terms to serve.”Ray Boughen, a former Conservative MP, once remarked on the challenges of aging in politics, stating, “If you do this job properly, four years is a long time.” Though Boughen retired at 78, MacAulay and Plamondon are setting a different standard, proving that age, as Boughen once said, “is an accident of birth.”The record for parliamentary seniority was set by Conservative MP William Black, who served until his death in 1934, just shy of his 87th birthday.
Veteran Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay, 78, has announced his intent to run for a 12th term in Parliament, expressing confidence in his continued role representing Cardigan, Prince Edward Island.“I am prepared for the next election always, and that means working for the constituents of Cardigan,” said MacAulay, who will mark 36 years in Parliament this November. When asked if he planned to run again, he responded, “People have been pretty generous. They have nominated me 11 times, and I am hopeful they will again.”MacAulay, known as the dean of Prince Edward Island MPs, emphasized the spirit of cooperation in his riding. “In our riding, we work together. No matter what we’re doing, we have some difficulties, we work together and try to resolve them — that’s the way we’ve worked for over 30 years.”He offered no specific advice for newer politicians, but his long track record speaks volumes. MacAulay was last re-elected with a 4,358-vote margin. His fellow senior MP, Louis Plamondon of the Bloc Québécois, who has served 40 years, is also expected to seek another term, declaring in the Commons, “I still have two or three terms to serve.”Ray Boughen, a former Conservative MP, once remarked on the challenges of aging in politics, stating, “If you do this job properly, four years is a long time.” Though Boughen retired at 78, MacAulay and Plamondon are setting a different standard, proving that age, as Boughen once said, “is an accident of birth.”The record for parliamentary seniority was set by Conservative MP William Black, who served until his death in 1934, just shy of his 87th birthday.
