Don Lindsay

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Don Lindsay is a Canadian politician in the Liberal Party.

Lindsay was born in Renfrew, Ontario, the descendant of Scottish and French settlers who came to the Ottawa Valley in 1830s. His grandfather, Nathaniel (Nat) Lindsay, started a business called Ottawa Valley Grain Products, which is still active in the area today. The business expanded over the years to include many companies within the Ottawa Valley as well as western Canada.

Lindsay started working in the family business at a young age, and spent time working on the farms in western Canada as a young man, learning the business from the ground up.

After working at the defence and aerospace manufacturing firm, Magline of Canada, Lindsay began a career in the high technology sector in 1988. He has worked with various American high tech companies over the years, throughout Canada and the United States. Most recently Mr. Lindsay worked in Europe as a division manager for Motorola.

Liberal Partypolitics has a long history in the Lindsay family. Lindsay became active in the Liberal Party at a young age at both the provincial and federal levels and served as President of the Young Liberals in Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke for several years in the 1980s. He has been an active organizer for a number of candidates over the years, such as Len Hopkins and Sean Conway.

Lindsay has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Concordia University. He also is a graduate of the Executive Education Program at Harvard Business School.

[edit] 2006 federal election controversy

At an all candidates meeting in Pembroke, Ontario on January 18, 2006, a World War II veteran named Tomkins stood up and asked Lindsay what plans the Liberals had to compensate handgun owners for seizing their private property. Lindsay replied, stating that "Sir, America is our neighbour not our nation, if you elect a society that talks about that kind of perspective I suggest that perhaps you go there!". The large crowd instantly became very vocal and started shouting at Lindsay. Many shouted that he should move back to the United States himself, rather than telling a veteran to move there. He subsequently had an 'outburst.'^[1] Many are saying that this stunt has not only effectively given Cheryl Gallant the election, but also driven many core Liberal supporters to the independent candidate, Paul Kelly.