Michael John Savage (born May 13, 1960) is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
-born
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 ...
politician, who was elected
Mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality
This is a list of mayors of the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax's first Mayor, Walter Fitzgerald, was elected in 1996 after the municipality was created by amalgamation. The Mayor of the Halifax holds the highest office in the municipal g ...
on October 20, 2012.
He previously served as a
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
Member of
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
for the riding of
Dartmouth—Cole Harbour
Dartmouth—Cole Harbour (formerly Dartmouth and Dartmouth—Halifax East) is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004.
Demographics
''From the 2021 census '' ...
from 2004 to 2011.
Biography
Savage was born in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and spent his early years in
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
before moving to Canada at age six.
Savage is the son of former
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 ...
premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
John Savage. He grew up in Dartmouth, graduating from
Prince Andrew High School
Woodlawn High School (formerly Prince Andrew High School) is a Canadian public school, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It is operated by the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) (formerly the Halifax Regional School Board) and is an Interna ...
and
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in 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 fou ...
.
Before being elected, Savage was active in the community. He is a past president of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia and was a member of the board of directors of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada from 1998 to 2003. He has also supported literacy through his involvement with the Dartmouth Book and Writing Awards and the Peter Gzowski Golf Tournament for Literacy.
Savage has most recently been involved with community organizations such as Junior Achievement, the Red Cross, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Alderney Landing, and is a former member of the Neptune Theatre Board. He was president of the Halifax Executive Association in 1995–1996 and is a member of the Metropolitan Halifax Chamber of Commerce.
Savage has also served as General Manager of S. Cunard & Co., a home and heating retailer in Nova Scotia, and later became the director, residential/general business marketing and sales for Nova Scotia Power.
In April 2002, he joined Ray & Berndtson as vice-president of business development and senior consultant.
Political career
Savage's first attempt at elected politics was when he ran in the riding of
Dartmouth in the
1997 election. He finished second behind
Wendy Lill
Wendy Lill (born November 2, 1950) is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and radio dramatist who served as an NDP Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2004. Her stage plays have been performed extensively in theatres across Canada as well as inter ...
of the
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
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Savage was elected Member of Parliament for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour in
June 2004, and was re-elected in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
. He was the critic for Human Resources Development. He has served on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health and was chair of the Liberal Caucus Committee on Post-Secondary Education and Research during the
38th Parliament. He was also the vice-chair of the standing committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.
He has served as president of both federal and provincial organizations and has managed campaigns at both levels.
On December 4, 2006, it was reported that Savage was considering a run for the leadership 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 ...
. On December 19, Savage announced that he would not seek the leadership.
On May 2, 2011, Savage lost his federal seat to
Robert Chisholm of the NDP.
On February 6, 2012, Savage announced that he would run for Mayor of Halifax Regional Municipality in
that year's municipal elections. On October 20, 2012, Savage was elected Mayor of Halifax.
He was re-elected in the
2016 election and
2020 election.
Electoral history
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, Michael
1960 births
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Living people
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia
Politicians from Belfast
People from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Northern Ireland emigrants to Canada
Canadian people of Welsh descent
Dalhousie University alumni
Mayors of Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia
21st-century Canadian politicians