Elmer Buchanan

Elmer Buchanan
Ontario MPP
In office 1990–1995
Preceded by	Jim Pollock
Succeeded by	Harry Danford
Constituency	Hastings—Peterborough
Personal details
Born	1946 (age 70–71) Havelock, Ontario
Political party	New Democrat (1990-2006) Liberal (2006-)
Occupation	High-school teacher, treasurer

Elmer Buchanan (born c. 1946) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995 who represented the eastern Ontario riding of Hastings—Peterborough. He was a cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae. Buchanan left the NDP to support Bob Rae's 2006 Liberal party leadership bid.

Buchanan was born in Havelock, Ontario and raised on a farm in Belmont Township where his family has lived since 1834. Buchanan studied at Queen's University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and also has a certificate from Teacher's College in Peterborough County. He worked as a high-school teacher in Hastings County, and was vice-principal of North Hastings High School for four years.

Buchanan helped form the NDP association in Hastings in 1972. From 1975 to 1987 he campaigned for provincial office five times before his election in 1990.

The NDP won a majority government under Bob Rae in the provincial election of 1990, and Buchanan defeated Jim Pollock by 896 votes. He was named Minister of Agriculture and Food on October 1, 1990, and held this position for the entirety of the Rae government.

Buchanan was one of the most successful ministers in the Rae government, and was widely praised for his handling of the agriculture portfolio. Premier Bob Rae said that he was "a constant source of sound advice, political savvy and practical intelligence." While the Ontario NDP lost much of its rural support between 1990 and 1995, Buchanan remained personally popular within rural Ontario and with the agricultural community.

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