| The Honourable John Savage OC, ONS |
|
|---|---|
| 23rd Premier of Nova Scotia | |
| In office June 11, 1993 – July 18, 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Donald W. Cameron |
| Succeeded by | Russell MacLellan |
| MLA for Dartmouth South | |
| In office 1993–1997 |
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| Preceded by | Roland J.Thornhill |
| Succeeded by | Don Chard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 28, 1932 Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales |
| Died | May 13, 2003 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
John Patrick Savage, OC, ONS (May 28, 1932—May 13, 2003) was the 23rd Premier of Nova Scotia, Canada between 1993 and 1997.
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Born in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, and keeping his Welsh accent to the end, Savage graduated from Queen's University of Belfast and practiced as a Medical doctor in Newport until he emigrated to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in 1967.
He made a name for himself as the "hippie doctor" in the 1970s, setting up a detox centre, and a free clinic in the disadvantaged community of North Preston.
After unsuccessful tries as a Liberal Party candidate in two federal elections, he became Mayor of his home town of Dartmouth in 1985. While mayor, he received a reputation as a left-wing free spender.
In 1992, Savage decided to try his hand at provincial politics, running for the leadership of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. Winning on the second ballot, Savage then defeated Donald Cameron and the governing Progressive Conservatives in the 1993 provincial election winning 40 of the legislature's 52 seats.
During his term as Premier, saddled with huge operating debts left by the previous government and declining equalization payments from the federal government of Jean Chrétien, 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 servants. Other programs such as constructing a toll highway, municipal amalgamations by creating the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and the Halifax Regional Municipality, 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, the establishment of one of the most modern emergency health services 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, he resigned as premier in 1997.
After Savage resigned, he and his wife travelled to Africa to perform missionary work.
In 2001, he acknowledged he had stomach cancer,[1] 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. He died in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.[2][3]
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