Robert Strang ONS (born 1959) is a Canadian

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 ...

and the

chief medical officer Chief medical officer (CMO) is the title used in many countries for the senior government official designated head of medical services, sometimes at the national level. The post is held by a physician who serves to advise and lead a team of medical ...

for the 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 ...

. Before becoming a doctor, Strang played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

for the Canada men's national rugby union team until retiring in 1991.

Early life, rugby union career, and education

Born in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

, now

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, Strang and his family moved to

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) 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. It is the only province with both English and ...

when he was five years old. Strang began playing

in high school and played for the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

's rugby team. He later played in New Zealand, but returned to Canada in the early 1980s to play for the Canada men's national rugby union team. While on the team, he played against the

England national rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents England in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasion ...

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team play ...

. Strang retired as a player in 1991. He received a

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

from

(UBC) in 1990 and completed

family practice Family medicine is a medical specialty within primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primary ...

residency in 1992 and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

medicine

residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgrad ...

in 1997 at UBC. He also received from UBC a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

and

Bachelor of Physical Education A Bachelor of Physical Education (BPE or BPhEd) is a bachelor degree granted by some universities. In many Canadian universities it has been replaced by a Bachelor of Kinesiology. The degree can include topics such as sport science, coaching, and ...

Medical career

In 1994, Strang became a team doctor for the Canada men's national rugby union team. From 1997 to 1999, Strang was an Associate

Medical Officer of Health A medical officer of health, also known as a medical health officer, chief health officer, chief public health officer or district medical officer, is the title commonly used for the senior government official of a health department, usually at a m ...

in the Canadian province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. In 1999, Strang moved to

, and continued his career in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, where he became the Medical Officer of Health of

Capital District Health Authority The Capital District Health Authority (shortened to Capital Health or the Capital Health District) was the largest of the nine health authorities in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. In 2015 it was merged into the new, province-wide Nova Scotia ...

, the largest health authority of the province, later merged into the new

Nova Scotia Health Authority The Nova Scotia Health Authority is a provincial health authority serving Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the largest employer in the province, with more than 23,000 employees, 2,500 physicians and 7,000 volunteers working from 45 different facilities. ...

. He held the position until 2007.

Chief Medical Officer of Health of Nova Scotia

In 2007, Strang was appointed Chief Public Health Official of Nova Scotia. He was announced in that newly created role on 23 August 2007. The position was renamed

Chief medical officer of Health A medical officer of health, also known as a medical health officer, chief health officer, chief public health officer or district medical officer, is the title commonly used for the senior government official of a health department, usually at a m ...

by the province in late 2016.In that role, Strang has been an anti-smoking advocate and an outspoken critic of

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or falsifiability, unfa ...

and

misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic False information, including intentional disinformation and conspiracy theories, about the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic and the origin, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease has been spread through social media, text messaging ...

. In 2018, he was with

Theresa Tam Theresa Tam (; born 1965) is a Canadian physician and public servant who currently serves as the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, chief public health officer of Canada, who is the second-in-command of the Public Health Agency of Canada ( ...

the co-chair of the special advisory committee on the epidemic of opioid overdoses in Canada.

COVID-19 pandemic

Since 15 March 2020, Strang has provided daily updates on the

COVID-19 pandemic in Nova Scotia The COVID-19 pandemic in Nova Scotia is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On March 15, 2020, three presumptive ca ...

. He became Nova Scotia's

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

lead communicator on matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nova Scotia. In daily

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

s, he provides updates on the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and the public health effort to respond to it. In December 2020, Strang was awarded the Lieutenant-Governor's Award for Excellence in Public Administration for his work during the pandemic. In November 2020, The

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

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 ...

presented Dr. Robert Strang with the coveted Paul Harris Fellowship Award. Two years later in March 2022, the Rotary Club of

Middleton, Nova Scotia Middleton is a town in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Situated on the north bank of the Annapolis River, it is located close to the centre of the Annapolis Valley, from which it gets its nickname, "The Heart of the Valley". History Where ...

awarded Strang a second Paul Harris award and also honoured his fellow Pandemic leader, the former Premier of Nova Scotia,

Stephen McNeil Stephen McNeil (born November 10, 1964) is a Canadian politician who served as the 28th premier of Nova Scotia, from 2013 to 2021. He also represented the riding of Annapolis in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2003 to 2021 and was the le ...

Personal life

A married father of three, Strang has been living in Nova Scotia since 1999 and is a resident 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 ...

. Strang was born with a

cleft lip and cleft palate A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate occurs when the palate (the roof of the mouth) contains an opening into the nose. The te ...

. Despite being retired from playing

, Strang still referees matches. Strang became known for his tie collection during the

, wearing a different tie to every briefing; a tree decorated with some of his ties raised $8250 at a charity auction for the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia in December 2020.

References