McInnes was the president of the Nova Scotia Holstein Association and the Nova Scotia Milk & Cream Producers.[3] McInnes was also a director and manager for the Pictou County Farmer's Mutual Fire Insurance Company.[3] In 2002, McInnes was inducted into the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame.[3]
Political career
McInnes entered provincial politics in 1978, defeating Liberal cabinet minister Dan Reid by 153 votes in the Pictou West riding.[4] He was re-elected in the 1981,[5] and 1984 elections.[6] In April 1988, McInnes was appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia as Minister of the Environment.[7][8] He was re-elected in the 1988 election,[9] and was moved to Minister of Fisheries in a post-election cabinet shuffle.[10] When Donald Cameron took over as premier in February 1991, McInnes served as Minister of Transportation and Communications,[11] and later as Minister of Agriculture and Marketing.[3] In the 1993 election, the Progressive Conservatives were reduced to nine seats, losing government to the Liberals,[12] however in Pictou West, McInnes was re-elected by almost 700 votes.[13][14] McInnes did not reoffer in the 1998 election.[15]
McInnes died in New Glasgow on August 10, 2015, at the age of 81.[16][17][18]