As heavy rain poured down on this picturesque Nova Scotia community, Liberal MP Scott Brison married his same-sex partner on Saturday, with many former and current MP friends in attendance. Gay marriage was legally recognised in Canada two years ago. The Liberal politician wed his partner Maxime St. Pierre at a ceremony in a small white church near Brison's country home in Cheverie. The ceremony was originally planned at the edge of a beach, where a large white tent had been set up, but it was relocated to a United church just up the road. Guests included Liberal Leader Stephane Dion, former Prime Minister Joe Clark, former Liberal defence Minister Bill Graham, former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna and Liberal MP John Godfrey. "Scott's a good friend of all of ours and we're pleased to be here to support him," McKenna said before the ceremony, adding that the wedding would help further legitimise same-sex marriage. "We were just mentioning on the way down that four or five years ago this would have been a very different event with very different reactions.'' Also on the guest list was former Prime Minister Paul Martin, who led the Liberal government that passed the same-sex marriage legislation. Brison, 40, has refused to comment on the marriage ceremony and details were kept quiet by his family and friends, who were asked not to reveal anything about the event. Helen Kennedy, the executive director of Egale Canada, a national gay and lesbian advocacy group, said the wedding marks an important milestone for gay rights in Canada. "The more that we see people like Scott getting married, then it normalises it in the mainstream, and hopefully there will come a day when it won't be an anomaly, and we won't care and Scott and others can marry just like anybody else does." Brison is the second high-profile politician this summer to marry their same-sex partner. A few weeks ago, George Smitherman, Ontario's first openly gay cabinet minister, wed his partner Christopher Peloso at a lodge near Sudbury, Ontario. Brison publicly acknowledged he is gay in 2002 and became Canada's first openly gay cabinet minister in 2004 after he crossed the floor of the Commons to join the Liberals. But he's always closely guarded his private life, saying once that he is "not a gay politician, but a politician who happens to be gay." Ref: 365gay.com (m)