Donald MacDonald (September 12, 1909 – September 25, 1986) was a Canadian social democratic politician and trade unionist who led the Nova Scotia Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and was elected as a member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1941. In 1968 he was elected President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). Early life He was born in Halifax on September 12, 1909. His family moved to Sydney, Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island when he was still a boy. By age 17, he was working at the coal piers at the Sydney Steel Plant. His education included graduating from Sydney Academy High School and attending St. Francis Xavier University (St. F.X.). Early union experience At the age of 21, Donald MacDonald became the president of the United Mine Workers (UMW) Local 4560. He worked at the pier throughout the 1930s. CCF MLA After the UMW strike of 1940, MacDonald wanted labour to have an active voice in the provincial legislature. He served on the Nova Scotia Co-operative Commonwealth Federation's (CCF) governing board known as the provincial council from 1940 until 1951. In 1941, he then ran for and won the CCF's nomination for the provincial electoral district (riding) of Cape Breton South. He won the 1941 provincial election by a mere 62 votes over Liberal incumbent MLA George Mackay Morrison. Being one of three CCF candidates elected, he became the leader of the CCF party in the Nova Scotia Assembly until 1945. He ran for re-election in 1945, and gained 440 votes over his previous total but due to gerrymandering lost a close election to Liberal John Smith MacIvor. The CCF lost Cape Breton South, but still retained two seats on the island and in the House of Assembly. His successor as party leader, Russell Cunningham was elected in Cape Breton East in the 1945 election, making up for the loss of Cape Breton South. Canadian Congress of Labour In 1942, he joined the organizing staff of the Canadian Congress of Labour (CCL). After his 1945 loss in the Cape Breton South riding, he became the regional director of the Maritime Provinces. In 1951, he became the CCL's secretary-treasurer and chief executive officer. He was very much a part of the organizational force that created the Canada Labour Congress in 1956. President of the CLC He was elected secretary-treasurer at the 1956 founding convention of the CLC. In