Leo McKay Jr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 June 1964 Stellarton, Nova Scotia |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Years active | 1996-present |
Leo McKay Jr. (born June 19, 1964) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer from Stellarton, Nova Scotia. He also is a periodic contributor to The Globe and Mail . [1] [2]
McKay was born and raised in the town of Stellarton, Nova Scotia, where he graduated from Stellarton High School in 1982. He grew up in the small working class Stellarton neighborhood called the Red Row, a neighborhood of hundred-year-old mining company duplexes and a tight-knit community of working-class people. His parents grew up in the same neighborhood. His mother, Georgina Bellick, was the daughter of Polish and Ukrainian immigrants. His father, Leo McKay Sr., who lived in the Red Row until his death in 2011, was a riveter at the railcar factory in nearby Trenton before becoming a career labour leader, social activist, New Democrat politician, and eventually a member of Stellarton Town Council.
He studied English at St. Francis Xavier University, French at Laval, Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia and Education at Dalhousie. He lived in Asia for four years.
McKay teaches English at Cobequid Educational Centre in Truro, Nova Scotia. [3]
McKay became one of the first recognized literary writers to embrace social media. During the 2010 CBC Canada Reads competition, McKay used Facebook, Twitter and especially YouTube, to promote his 2003 novel Twenty-Six as one of the Best Canadian Novels of the previous decade. He used hand-shot, self-produced videos called "Twenty-six Reasons Why You Should Vote for Twenty-Six For Canada Reads 2010". The novel made the 40 book long list, and that success spurred McKay to further use of social media as a promotional tool.
In the spring of 2012, McKay used an online funding site, Indiegogo.com, to fund the independent publication of a new novel, Roll Up the Rim. That campaign raised $10,000 in 30 days, and was chosen by Indiegogo.com as an example of how to run a successful online funding campaign. [4]
McKay's debut short story collection, Like This, was short-listed for the Giller Prize in 1995 [5] and received the Dartmouth Book Award for fiction in 1996. [6]
His first novel, Twenty-Six , was published in 2003. It became a national bestseller, [5] and won the 2004 Dartmouth Book Award. [6]
Dartmouth is an urban community and former city located in the Halifax Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia, Canada. Dartmouth is located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour. Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes, after the large number of lakes located within its boundaries.
John Patrick Savage was a Welsh-born Canadian physician and politician. Savage was the 23rd premier of Nova Scotia between 1993 and 1997. He was born in Wales, and educated in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. He immigrated to Canada in 1967 and was a noted family physician in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He became the mayor of Dartmouth in 1985, and won re-election twice. He then became the leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party in 1992 and stepped down as mayor. In 1993, he defeated the incumbent provincial government and became premier. Savage was a controversial premier, bringing in many reforms in taxation, regional government, and government hiring practices. He resigned as premier in 1997 due to his low approval ratings in public polls. He died of cancer at the age of 70 in 2003. He was the father of Mike Savage, current mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Truro is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth at the eastern end of Cobequid Bay.
Stellarton is a town located in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is adjacent and to the south of the larger town of New Glasgow. In pioneer times the area was called Coal Mines Station, and from 1833 until 1889, it was known as Albion Mines. The town was incorporated as Stellarton in 1889 and owes its name to a specific type of torbanite which came to be known as "stellarite" because of the "stars of fire" given off by its sparky flame.
The Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, is a moderate political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. Like most conservative parties in Atlantic Canada, it has been historically associated with the Red Tory faction of Canadian conservatism. The party is currently led by Pictou East MLA Tim Houston. The party won a majority government in the 2021 provincial election.
The Westray Mine was a Canadian coal mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia. Westray was owned and operated by Curragh Resources Incorporated, which obtained both provincial and federal government money to open the mine, and supply the local electric power utility with coal.
The A. Murray MacKay Bridge, known locally as "the new bridge", is a suspension bridge linking the Halifax Peninsula with Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and opened on July 10, 1970. It is one of two suspension bridges crossing Halifax Harbour. Its counterpart, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge, was completed in 1955. The bridge carries on average 52,000 vehicle crossings per day, and is part of Nova Scotia Highway 111.
Cobequid Educational Centre (CEC) is a high school located in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada.
William Donald Ross, was a financier, banker and the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
Carol Bruneau is a Canadian writer.
John Edgar Holm is a Canadian politician from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia in the Halifax Regional Municipality. He represented the electoral districts of Sackville, and Sackville-Cobequid in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1984 to 2003 as a member of the New Democratic Party.
Twenty-Six is the debut novel by author Leo McKay, Jr., released in 2003. The book was a national bestseller in Canada and won the 2004 Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction.
The Cobequid Pass is the name given to a 45 km (28 mi) tolled section of Nova Scotia Highway 104 between Thomson Station, Cumberland County and Masstown, Colchester County in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The section is a public–private partnership; the highway is owned by the Highway 104 Western Alignment Corporation, a Crown corporation of the Government of Nova Scotia, with a toll plaza operated under contract by Atlantic Highway Management Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of Aecon Concessions. The toll plaza is located near the halfway point in Londonderry. It opened in 1997.
George Raymond Doucet is a former high school principal and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Halifax Cobequid in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1974 to 1978 as a Liberal. He was born in Quebec City, Quebec, the son of Herbert Louis Doucet and Agnes Boudreau. He was educated there, at St. Francis Xavier University and at the École Normale in Laval, Quebec. In 1961, he married Virginia Ann McMaster. Doucet entered provincial politics in the 1974 election, winning the Halifax Cobequid riding. He served as Speaker of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia from 1977 to 1978. In the 1978 election, Doucet ran in the new riding of Sackville, and was defeated by Progressive Conservative Malcolm A. MacKay.
Gordon Howard "Paddy" Fitzgerald was a Canadian politician in the province of Nova Scotia. He was a former Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Fitzgerald was born in Cochrane, Ontario.
Thomas Johnson McInnis is a retired Canadian senator. He also represented the electoral district of Halifax Eastern Shore in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1978 to 1993, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia.
George Henry Wright was a significant businessman and philanthropist in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was born at Wright's Cove, Nova Scotia and died in the sinking of the Titanic at the age of 62. He established Write's World Business Directory in Boston and later returned to Halifax and invested in the city. His own house at 989 Young Ave, and two of his public buildings, the Marble Wright Building and The Saint Paul Building, still stand in downtown Halifax. They were all built by architect James Charles Philip Dumaresq.
R. Laird Stirling was a Canadian politician and minister. He represented the electoral district of Dartmouth North in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1978 to 1988. He was a member of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party.
George Stuart Riley was a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Halifax Cobequid in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1970 to 1974. He was a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.
The 2021 Nova Scotia general election was held on August 17, 2021, to elect members to the 64th General Assembly of Nova Scotia.