He represented the electoral district of Victoria in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1988 to 2003.
Born in 1933,[2] MacAskill is a graduate of the Nova Scotia Institute of Technology where he obtained an interprovincial plumbing certificate.
[3] For over 20 years, he operated his own plumbing and heating business in Englishtown, Nova Scotia.
[3] MacAskill entered provincial politics in 1988, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent Fisher Hudson to become the MLA for Victoria.
On July 18, 1997, MacAskill was appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia as Minister of Natural Resources.