John Patrick Savage (May 28, 1932 – May 13, 2003) was a Welsh-born Canadian physician and politician. Savage was the 23rd
premier of Nova Scotia
The premier of Nova Scotia is the first minister to the lieutenant governor of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and presides over the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. Following the Westminster system, the premier is normally the leader of ...
between 1993 and 1997. He was born in Wales, and educated in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. He immigrated to Canada in 1967 and was a noted family physician in
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth ( ) is an urban community and former city located in the Halifax Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia, Canada. Dartmouth is located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour. Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes, after the larg ...
. He became the mayor of Dartmouth in 1985, and won re-election twice. He then became the leader of the
Nova Scotia Liberal Party
The Nova Scotia Liberal Party is a centrist provincial political party in Nova Scotia, Canada and the provincial section of the Liberal Party of Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Nova Scotia, under the leadership of Zach ...
in 1992 and stepped down as mayor. In 1993, he defeated the incumbent provincial government and became premier. Savage was a controversial premier, bringing in many reforms in taxation, regional government, and government hiring practices. He resigned as premier in 1997 due to his low approval ratings in public polls. He died of cancer at the age of 70 in 2003. He was the father of
Mike Savage, current mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Early life
Born in
Newport, Wales
Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2 ...
, he was the son of an Irish Roman Catholic doctor father and a Welsh Baptist housewife mother.
[
] He attended school at
Prior Park College
Prior Park College is a mixed Roman Catholic public school for both day and boarding students. Situated on a hill overlooking the city of Bath, Somerset, in southwest England, Prior Park has been designated by Historic England as a Grade I li ...
, Bath, before attending
Queen's University of Belfast
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to become a
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
.
Nova Scotia
He was generally unhappy with the United Kingdom's government-run healthcare system known as the
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
.
When he saw an advertisement for doctors in the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
province of
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 ...
, Savage decided to pack up his family and move across the ocean to continue his medical practice in 1967.
[
] He made a name for himself as the "hippie doctor" in the 1970s, due to his beard and progressive health stances.
By setting up a detox centre — and a free clinic in the economically disadvantaged and mostly black community of
North Preston — he assured his reputation as a
left-winger.
He started his political life running for federal office in the Halifax area in the 1970s. He was defeated twice as a federal
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
candidate. In 1985, he ran successfully to become the
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth ( ) is an urban community and former city located in the Halifax Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia, Canada. Dartmouth is located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour. Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes, after the larg ...
, where he lived.
[
] While mayor, he received a reputation as a left-wing free spender.
[
] He was re-elected as mayor in both 1988 and 1991.
Premier of Nova Scotia
The
Nova Scotia Liberal Party
The Nova Scotia Liberal Party is a centrist provincial political party in Nova Scotia, Canada and the provincial section of the Liberal Party of Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Nova Scotia, under the leadership of Zach ...
had its annual general meeting in Dartmouth on February 29, 1992. Savage attended a session of the meeting to bring greetings from the City of Dartmouth, in his capacity as its mayor, but didn't realize that the party's rank and file were about to oust their long-time leader,
Vince McLean. He was approached to run for the Liberal leadership and took a leave of absence from his mayoral duties. The election was held by computerized telephone balloting, and he won on the second ballot in June 1992.
On May 25, 1993, Savage defeated sitting Premier
Donald Cameron Donald Cameron may refer to:
Scottish Clan Cameron
* Donald Cameron of Lochiel (c. 1695 or 1700–1748), 19th Chief, and his descendants:
** Donald Cameron, 22nd Lochiel (1769–1832), 22nd Chief
** Donald Cameron of Lochiel (1835–1905), Scott ...
and the governing
Progressive Conservatives in the
1993 provincial election, winning 40 of the legislature's 52 seats.
[
]
During his term as premier, and saddled with huge operating debts left by the previous government and declining equalization payments from the federal government of
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.
Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...
, he became a tough fiscal conservative, balancing the provincial budget in 1996 for the first time since 1978.
In doing so, he cut social spending drastically and cut the wages of thousands of
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
s. Other programs, such as constructing a toll highway, municipal amalgamations by creating the
Cape Breton Regional Municipality
Cape Breton Regional Municipality (often referred to as simply "CBRM") is the Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2016 the municipality has a population of 94,285. The ...
and the
Halifax Regional Municipality
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
, and the implementation of the
Harmonized Sales Tax were initiated under his watch.
[
]
His government also led the country in the creation of tougher anti-smoking legislation, consolidation of school boards and local health authorities, creation of the
Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre
Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, is a large teaching hospital and Level 1 Trauma Centre affiliated with Dalhousie University. The QEII cares for adult patients. Pediatric patients within the region are c ...
, the establishment of one of the most modern
emergency health services
Emergency Health Services (EHS) is a branch of the Nova Scotia Department of Health tasked with providing emergency medical services. It is also responsible for transportation of patients between hospitals and medical facilities. At present, all ...
in North America along with province-wide emergency field communications systems, and he waged a tough and ultimately successful fight against an entrenched patronage system in the provincial Department of Transportation and Public Works, as well as within his own political party.
Savage's detractors labelled him as inexperienced and stubborn.
Faced with increasing discontent from within his own party over some of his anti-patronage policies, and after surviving a July 1995 leadership review vote,
[
] he resigned as premier in 1997.
In its editorial page on March 22, 1997, ''The Globe and Mail'', after citing his list of reforms, called him "the best premier in a generation," and berated both Liberal party members and the public for forcing him to resign.
[
]
Later life and death
After Savage resigned, he and his wife Margaret traveled to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
to perform missionary work. They worked in
The Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
, providing
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
education to youth.
[ In 2001, he acknowledged he had stomach ]cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
,[
] which spread throughout his body until his death on May 13, 2003. Just three days before his death, he was made an officer 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 ...
.[
] He died in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth ( ) is an urban community and former city located in the Halifax Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia, Canada. Dartmouth is located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour. Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes, after the larg ...
, about six weeks after his wife's death, also from cancer.[
][
] Savage and his wife had seven children, with their son Mike Savage following in his father's footsteps and becoming the mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
in 2012.[
]
Electoral history
References
Bibliography
* Clancy, Peter; Bickerton, James; Haddow, Rodney and Stewart, Ian. (2000) ''The Savage Years: The Perils of Reinventing Government in Nova Scotia''. Halifax: Formac Publishing Company Limited.
External links
Order of Canada citation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, John
1932 births
People from Newport, Wales
Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
20th-century Welsh medical doctors
Welsh emigrants to Canada
People from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Canadian general practitioners
Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs
Nova Scotia political party leaders
Premiers of Nova Scotia
Members of the Order of Nova Scotia
Officers of the Order of Canada
Deaths from stomach cancer
2003 deaths
Canadian Roman Catholic missionaries
Roman Catholic missionaries in Africa
Deaths from cancer in Nova Scotia
20th-century Canadian politicians
20th-century Canadian physicians
Christian missionaries in the Gambia
Christian medical missionaries