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The Honourable Scott Brison (b. 1967, Windsor, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian Member of Parliament, representing the Nova Scotia riding of Kings-Hants for the Liberal Party of Canada. Although openly gay, he states that he is "not a gay politician, but a politician who happens to be gay".
Brison obtained a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University, and worked in corporate sales for ten years before running as a candidate in the 1997 Canadian election. His party, the Progressive Conservatives performed better than expected in that election, and Brison became one of a number of new, young Tory MPs elected that year (others included Peter MacKay, John Herron and André Bachand.)
In July 2000, Brison resigned his seat on behalf of PC leader Joe Clark, so that Clark could gain a seat in the House of Commons. In the interim, Brison was appointed co-chair of the Tories' Election Policy Platform Committee, and became vice-president of investment banking at Yorkton Securities in Toronto.
When the 2000 Canadian election was called in October, Clark stood for election in a Calgary, Alberta riding. Brison returned as the PC candidate in Kings-Hants, and was returned to Parliament. In 2001, he served as the party's Finance and Industry critic, and was vice-chairman of the House of Commons Finance committee. Brison came out as gay in 2002, becoming the fourth sitting Member of Parliament to do so (after Svend Robinson, Réal Ménard and Libby Davies), and the first Progressive Conservative.
In 2003, Brison ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives following Clark's retirement. Although he was widely judged to have run a strong campaign, he was knocked off after the second ballot and threw his support to Jim Prentice, who lost on the final ballot to MacKay. He also experienced conflict with other members of his party, particularly Elsie Wayne, over their opposition to same-sex marriage.
On December 10th, 2003, Brison announced that he would cross the floor, and sit as a Liberal MP, due to reservations about the new Conservative Party of Canada. He is currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada with special emphasis on Canada-U.S. relations. He thus becomes the first openly gay Liberal MP and member of the Cabinet.
| Members of Parliament from King—Hants | ||
| Preceded by: John Murphy, Liberal (electoral district changed names from Annapolis Valley—Hants) | First term (1997-2000) | Followed by: Joe Clark, PC |
| Preceded by: Joe Clark, PC | Second term(2000-present) | Followed by: (incumbent) |
