before she stepped down as Nova Scotia leader, she had a hysterectomy, and waited until she recuperated before she announced her resignation. During her time as leader of the federal NDP, McDonough was romantically involved with David MacDonald, a former Progressive Conservative (PC) MP for Toronto Centre—Rosedale and a cabinet minister. MacDonald ran as the NDP candidate in Toronto Centre—Rosedale in the 1997 election; in the previous election, he was the PC incumbent, and like every other PC candidate in Ontario in 1993, was defeated. The pair split up prior to the 2004 federal election. On May 3, 2013, McDonough announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer about four months earlier during a mammogram. She had been receiving treatment. McDonough died at a long-term care home in Halifax, on January 15, 2022, at the age of 77. She suffered from Alzheimer's disease in the seven years prior to her death. Electoral record Source: Source: Source: Source: Source: Source: References Specific Bibliography External links 1944 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Canadian politicians 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Canadian Baptists Canadian activists Canadian university and college chief executives Canadian women activists Dalhousie University alumni Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Female Canadian political party leaders Leaders of the Nova Scotia CCF/NDP Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia Members of the Order of Nova Scotia Mount Saint Vincent University NDP and CCF leaders Deaths from dementia in Canada New Democratic Party MPs Nova Scotia New Democratic Party MLAs Officers of the Order of Canada Politicians from Ottawa Women MLAs in Nova Scotia Women members of the House of Commons of Canada