Lawrence Alexander Paul (July 23, 1934 – May 28, 2014) was a Chief of Millbrook First Nation in Nova Scotia, Canada. First elected a band councillor in 1974, he became chief in 1984 and served continuously in that position until 2012. He has been widely recognized for his leadership which transformed the Millbrook First Nation into a significant economic force in central Nova Scotia.

Life and career

He was born in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of K ...

, one of 14 children. At the age of one he moved with his family to the Shubenacadie Indian Reserve, Nova Scotia now, Indian Brook Indian Reserve No. 14, near Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia.Profile and Doctor of Civil Law citation
Saint Mary’s University As a young man he served in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...

and later worked variously in fisheries enforcement, in auto body repair, in construction, as a bookkeeper, and as an economic development officer. He was elected councilor in 1974, serving for four years, and was elected to council again in 1980. In 1984 he ran successfully for Chief of the Millbrook Band at a time when the band was $4 million in debt. Within 2 years, the debt had been eliminated and a new program of economic development had begun. Paul had determined that the success of the band would be based on its inherent strengths and by working within the prevailing economic and governing structures of the day. Notably, in 2009, he brought the Band onto the board of the regional economic development group, CORDA. In the early 2000s, under his leadership the Band obtained a federal grant and provincial support to build a highway interchange that connected the Millbrook Reserve to Nova Scotia Highway 102, thus opening up the potential of the site for further economic development. The Truro Power Centre was built beside the interchange and the Band now leases the site to aboriginal and non-aboriginal tenants including Tim Horton, A&W, a Super 8 Motel, and Sobeys/Empire (Studio 7 Cinema). An onshore aquaculture facility that raises

Arctic Char The Arctic char or Arctic charr (''Salvelinus alpinus'') is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes and arctic and subarctic coastal waters. Its distribution is Circumpolar North. It spawns in freshwater and populat ...

is also located on the site as a Band-owned operation. A new housing development was also created nearby. On other Band-owned sites in Nova Scotia, Millbrook First Nation also made significant band and partnered investments under his tenure as Chief, including a new building to house a General Dynamics helicopter support facility on its Cole Harbour Reserve, a wind energy project, and a planned deep-water port in

Melford, Nova Scotia The Municipality of the County of Inverness is a county municipality on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It provides local government to about 17,000 residents of the historical county of the same name, except for the incorporated town ...

. At

Sheet Harbour Sheet Harbour is a rural area, rural community in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in the eastern reaches of the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, approximately northeast of the central urban area of the municipality, con ...

and Joggins, it has developed wharf facilities and maintains small fishing fleets. Lawrence Paul, who had won 14 consecutive two-year terms as chief, was defeated in the 2012 Band Council election by long-time councillor Robert Gloade. Prior to the election, Paul had briefly contemplated running for chief of the Indian Brook and ultimately ran there after his defeat in Millbrook. However, he was defeated by band councillor Rufus Copage. He continued to mentor members of Band Council until his death in May 2014.

Recognition

In recognition of his efforts on behalf of Millbrook First Nation, Lawrence Paul has received numerous awards and honours, including the Individual Economic Developer of the Year Award by EDO, the Canadian Aboriginal Economic Development Officers (CANDO) in 2004.http://www.edo.ca/downloads/ed-2004-chief-lawrence-paul.pdf CANDO citation and an Honorary doctor of Laws from Saint Marys University.

Personal life

He has been married three times. He had seven children, Terry Paul, Sharon Touchie, Jack Paul, Cindy Paul, Shawn Paul, Lance Paul and Chantelle Larocque. Shawn died as a young man. His brother is the writer and historian Daniel N. Paul.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Lawrence 1934 births 2014 deaths Indigenous leaders in Atlantic Canada People from Saint John, New Brunswick People from Colchester County