Peter Mackay – the dad years

As Peter Mackay announced in May 2015 he was stepping away from politics, then-prime minister Stephen Harper gave a somewhat personal speech at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton, N.S.

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 he will join the Conservative leadership race, has been pursuing just that.

When Mackay 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 was born in September 2015. They welcomed a third child, Caledon, into their home in July 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 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, 54, has been working at the law firm 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, assisting Tory candidates in the October 2019 federal election.

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.