H. Wade MacLauchlan CM OPEI (born 10 December 1954), is a Canadian legal academic, university administrator, politician and community leader.

The family lived initially in an apartment above a country general store that his father Harry started at Stanhope in 1946 at the age of nineteen.

MacLauchlan worked in many of those ventures with jobs such as weighing and salting fish, collecting garbage, building golf course greens, and carrying suitcases.

A key formative experience came when MacLauchlan was nominated by his high school teachers to serve as a page in the PEI provincial legislature for two years in 1970 and 1971 at the height of the Comprehensive Development Plan and Alex Campbell's premiership.

He worked as road construction labourer in Northern Quebec, as a hotel clerk at Jasper Park Lodge, as a roughneck on an oil rig in west-central Alberta, and as a volunteer recycler in southern France.

[19] MacLauchlan took pride in saying that these infrastructure improvements were achieved while leaving UPEI with no unfunded debt, reflecting the considerable public and private funding contributions secured under his leadership.

MacLauchlan responded to a question from Pitts about the role of universities in economic growth by saying, "It's never been more important to do what we do and do more of it – in terms of moving to the emerging economy and what will pay the bills in the 21st century."

[25] MacLauchlan's main activity during the post-UPEI period was to research, write and publish the political biography of Alex B. Campbell, who was PEI's longest-serving premier from 1966 to 1978.

[26] In researching the book, MacLauchlan conducted more than 70 interviews with political and bureaucratic actors from the period, as well as family and friends of Alex B. Campbell.

In November 2014, an audio version of the book, recorded primarily by MacLauchlan, with passages from actor Gracie Finley, artistic director Duncan McIntosh and with Alex B. Campbell reading from his speeches and singing.

In 2013–14, MacLauchlan led a fundraising initiative that exceeded its $2 million goal and allowed the CHANCES Family Centre to pay off the mortgage on its central facility, named in honour of Hon.

In his acceptance speech to the leadership convention, MacLauchlan emphasized economic growth, demographic change, and open government, telling the audience, "Prosperity starts with growing our economy.

The Ghiz government's initiative to establish PEI as an e-gaming jurisdiction and efforts to create a financial hub were kept in the limelight by newly selected PC leader Rob Lantz and by investigative journalists.

[31][32] MacLauchlan asked PEI's auditor-general to review the matters and introduced conflict-of-interest reforms aimed at improving government transparency and accountability, saying the province needed to restore public confidence and trust.

The Liberal platform built on the theme "Let's Work Together" and around the pillars "People, Prosperity, Engagement," promising aggressive business development initiatives, as well as a first-ever arts and culture strategy and a population action plan.

[37] One of the first acts of the new government, prior to the legislative sitting, was to announce that PEI would fund abortions on a self-referral basis through an agreement with Moncton Hospital.

When the project was completed in August 2017, MacLauchlan said it meant "an energy system for Prince Edward Island that is reliable, affordable and increasingly renewable.

"[40] A plebiscite on electoral reform in November 2016 cost the MacLauchlan government political capital, as did a school review conducted in the winter of 2017.

On the recommendation of an all-party legislative committee, the electoral reform plebiscite offered Islanders five choices through a preferential voting or ranked-ballot system.

Because participation in the plebiscite was very low by PEI standards at 36.46%, the MacLauchlan government introduced legislation to have the matter settled through a yes-or-no referendum on MMP to be held in conjunction with the 2019 provincial election.

[46] The growth came predominantly in the private sector, with substantial increases in manufacturing, construction, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, transportation and wholesale trade.

[52] The Action Plan committed to a range of programs and partnerships, including investments in new affordable housing for the first time since the early 1990s and a tripling of income-sensitive rent supplements.

[58] In the area of open government, Prince Edward Island adopted its first-ever whistle-blower protection legislation, a lobbyist registry and the modernization of limits on political contributions.

[60] A November 2015 meeting of first ministers, the first in seven years, was a prelude to participation in the December 2015 conference that produced the Paris Agreement[61] among 196 state parties.

First ministers meetings in Vancouver in March 2016 and Ottawa in December moved toward the Pan Canadian Agreement on Clean Energy and Climate Change.

[62] Building on an extensive research and consultation, PEI released a ten-year Provincial Energy Strategy[63] in March 2016, and a 32-point Climate Change Action Plan in May 2018.

[66] When he became Liberal party leader and during the 2015 election campaign, Wade MacLauchlan made a commitment to lead a government would "live within its means."

The environment was uncertain with the recent selection of Dennis King as Progressive Conservative leader in February 2019 and the suspension of campaigning during the final weekend as a result of the tragic death of Green party candidate Josh Underhay.

[72] He lives with his partner, theatrical director and entrepreneur Duncan McIntosh, in West Covehead, PEI, the neighbouring community to his native Stanhope.

While at UNB, MacLauchlan was a founding director of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Foundation for Eliminating Family Violence and chaired the committee for the.