Background
MacKinnon was born near Sarnia, Ontario to a farming family.
MacKinnon was born near Sarnia, Ontario to a farming family.
Due to the depression she was forced to quit school after Grade 8. She worked as waitress, house servant and in a factory during World World War World War II Her husband died in 1980. She was a county councillor for the township of Plympton from 1977 to 1979 and served as a school trustee on the Lambton County public school board from 1988 to 1990.
MacKinnon ran as the New Democratic candidate in the provincial election of 1990 in the south-western Ontario riding of Lambton.
During the campaign, MacKinnon spoke out against shipping Toronto area garbage to the Sarnia region. She said, "Number garbage.
Not here. Not now. Not ever." MacKinnon learned later that many voters appreciated her simple answer to a complex issue.
She defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Bob Langstaff by 1,024 votes. The incumbent Liberal David Smith placed third.
When she arrived at Queen"s Park after the election she was awe-struck by the experience. In 1992, she suffered a tragic loss when one of her daughter"s died due to cancer.
Someone parked a wagon near her constituency office in Petrolia, Ontario with a sign on it that read, "Hey Ellen, it"s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." MacKinnon said, "I think that it"s a very, very poor reflection on (a) beautiful community." The bill was eventually defeated 68-59 on a free vote.
Due to health reasons, she did not seek re-election in 1995. MacKinnon died February 12, 2001. On April 23 of that year, the Ontario legislature paid her an official tribute.
NDP leader Howard Hampton spoke about her and quoted William Irvine:
"I will not acquiesce to that which is.
If it must be, I meet it with rebellion. With passion, love and life destroyed, my soul shall stand upon the wreck and challenge all."
Hampton said, "I think that describes Ellen MacKinnon to a T.".
In 1994, she voted for the party"s bill on benefits for same-sex couples despite receiving death threats.
She was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the southwest Ontario riding of Lambton from 1990 to 1995.