Irvin William Akerley, (24 November 1904 – 11 March 1995) was a

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

businessman and politician. Born in

Pugwash, Nova Scotia Pugwash is an incorporated village in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada, located on the Northumberland Strait at the mouth of the Pugwash River. It had a population of 746 as of the 2021 census. The name Pugwash is derived from the Mi'kmaq ...

, the son of Harry and Margaret MacLeod Akerley, he was a businessman in Dartmouth running his own businesses and working for others. In 1955, he was elected the first mayor of Dartmouth. He resigned to run for a seat in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

in the 1963 election and was elected as a Progressive Conservative representative for the district of

Halifax County Dartmouth Halifax County-Dartmouth was a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elected one member to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. It was created in 1956 from portions of the former Halifax County district and existed until 1967, a ...

. He served in the

Executive Council of Nova Scotia The Executive Council of Nova Scotia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Nova Scotia) is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Almost always made up of members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the Cabinet is sim ...

as Minister of Agriculture, and Minister of Highways. He was re-elected in the 1967 election in the new

Dartmouth South Dartmouth South is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. The riding is currently represented by Claudia Chender of the NDP. The district was created in 1966, under the ...

riding. He was defeated when he ran for re-election in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

and later became Chairman of the

Dartmouth General Hospital The Dartmouth General Hospital is an acute care hospital in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a 24-hour emergency, inpatient medical, surgical and critical care facility that has been operating since 1976. It serves approximately 120,000 peo ...

. In 1978, Akerley was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

, Canada's highest civilian honour, "for the efforts he has devoted to the improvement of life in Nova Scotia, more especially while holding provincial cabinet posts. Also for contributions to the business and community life of Dartmouth during and after his terms as alderman and mayor". Akerley Campus of the

Nova Scotia Community College Nova Scotia Community College, commonly referred to as NSCC, is a community college serving the province of Nova Scotia through a network of 14 campuses and three community learning centres. The college delivers over 130 programs in five academ ...

is named in his honour.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akerley, Irving 1904 births 1995 deaths Businesspeople from Nova Scotia Canadian people of Scottish descent Members of the Order of Canada Mayors of places in Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia People from Cumberland County, Nova Scotia