Ronald Daniel Stewart (born October 11, 1942) is a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Cape Breton North 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 ...

from 1993 to 1997. He was a member 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 Z ...

Early life and education

Stewart was born in

North Sydney, Nova Scotia North Sydney (Scottish Gaelic: ''Suidni A Tuath'' or ''Am Bàr'') is a former town and current community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Located on the north side of Sydney Harbour, along the eastern coast of Cape Breton ...

, to father Donald and mother Edith, and raised in Sydney Mines. Stewart graduated with his BA and BSc from

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

, and from Dalhousie University in 1970 with his medical degree. During his time as an intern at the VG Hospital he was heavily influenced by his professor and head of Emergency Medicine Dr. Bob Scharf. Upon graduation, he began his medical career by taking up a rural practice in Neil's Harbour, Nova Scotia.

Medical career

In 1972, after two years in

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

, Stewart entered the residency program in Emergency Medicine at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. He was the first medical director in the Los Angeles paramedic program. In

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, Stewart treated patients like Charles Manson. While working in Los Angeles he was also hired as a consultant for the television shows ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situa ...

'' and ''

Marcus Welby, M.D. Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...

''. In 1978, he left

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

for

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, where he served as the founding head of the emergency medicine department at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

. He was appointed medical director for the Department of Public Safety of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, where he was known as "Doctor Emergency". In 1988, Stewart returned to Canada, first to the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

and then to Dalhousie University in

Halifax, Nova Scotia 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 ...

, to teach and establish a pain and trauma research lab. Stewart served as the chairman for study of health reform in United States, which advised

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, that looked at one phase of ambulatory care and the training standards with regards to emergency care.

Political career

Stewart entered provincial politics in the 1993 election, defeating Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Brian Young by over 1500 votes in the Cape Breton North riding. In June 1993, Stewart was appointed to 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 Health. Stewart commissioned several reports on health care reform. Based on these reports, a reform of Nova Scotia's health care system was started in 1994, with the provincial government taking over control of ground ambulance operations and consolidating them into a single entity called Emergency Health Services. Stewart resigned from cabinet on June 27, 1996, and was replaced by

Bernie Boudreau James Bernard Boudreau (born July 25, 1944) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. Provincial politics Boudreau was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from Cape Breton The Lakes in the 1988 provincial election. He was re-elected in 19 ...

. On September 15, 1997, Stewart resigned as MLA, opening up a seat for premier

Russell MacLellan Russell Gregoire MacLellan (born January 16, 1940) is a Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Nova Scotia from 1997 to 1999. Early life MacLellan was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Federal politics He was first elected to the H ...

to run in a byelection.

After politics

Stewart founded the ''Music-in-Medicine'' program at Dalhousie Medical School, which is part of their Medical Humanities Program. Stewart is currently the Honorary Colonel of 35 (Sydney) Field Ambulance.

Awards and honours

In 1993, Stewart was named 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 cen ...

. In 2006, he was named a Member of the

Order of Nova Scotia The Order of Nova Scotia (french: Ordre de la Nouvelle-Écosse) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Instituted on August 2, 2001, when Lieutenant Governor Myra Freeman granted Royal Assent to the Order of Nova ...

. In 2008, Stewart was named a Hero of Emergency Medicine by the

American College of Emergency Physicians The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) is a professional organization of emergency medicine physicians in the United States. The organization was founded August 16, 1968, by eight physicians in Lansing, Michigan. ACEP established t ...

. Stewart has also received

honorary doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

(DSc-1989), Cape Breton University (LLD-2010) and Dalhousie University (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Ron 1942 births Acadia University alumni Dalhousie University alumni Academic staff of the Dalhousie University Living people Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia Members of the Order of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs Nova Scotia Ministers of Health Officers of the Order of Canada People from the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Academic staff of the University of Toronto