Helen MacDonald is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 politician, who represented the electoral district

Electoral district (Canada)

An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...

 of Cape Breton-The Lakes in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia from 1997 to 1999. She won the riding in a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 on November 4, 1997, following the resignation of Bernie Boudreau

Bernie Boudreau

James Bernard "Bernie" Boudreau, PC, QC is a Canadian lawyer and politician.Boudreau was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from Cape Breton The Lakes, and served as Minister of Finance. From 1996, he served as Minister of Health in the provincial Liberal government of John Savage...

, but was defeated by Brian Boudreau in the 1999 general election

Nova Scotia general election, 1999

The 35th Nova Scotia general election was held on July 27, 1999, to elect members of the 58th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservative party, led by Dr...

.

A New Democrat

Nova Scotia New Democratic Party

The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is a social-democratic provincial party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is aligned with the federal New Democratic Party . Originally founded as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in 1932, it became the New Democratic Party in 1961. It became the governing...

, MacDonald was subsequently chosen leader of the party in 2000, following the resignation of Robert Chisholm. When former Liberal premier Russell MacLellan

Russell MacLellan

Russell Gregoire MacLellan is a Canadian politician who served as the 24th Premier of Nova Scotia from 1997 to 1999.MacLellan was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia...

 resigned the seat of Cape Breton North

Cape Breton North

Cape Breton North is a provincial electoral district in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly....

 in 2001, MacDonald stood as the NDP candidate in the resulting by-election, but lost to Progressive Conservative Cecil Clarke

Cecil Clarke

Cecil Phillip Clarke is a politician in Nova Scotia, Canada. He represented the riding of Cape Breton North in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, from 2001 to 2011...

. As a result, MacDonald resigned the leadership of the New Democrats, and was succeeded by Darrell Dexter

Darrell Dexter

Darrell Dexter is a Canadian lawyer, journalist and former naval officer who is serving as the 27th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. A member of the New Democratic Party, he has led the Nova Scotia NDP since 2001. He was elected Premier in 2009 after defeating...

.