Darrell Dexter

The Honourable Darrell Dexter MLA
27th Premier of Nova Scotia
Incumbent
Assumed office June 19, 2009
Lieutenant Governor	Mayann Francis
Preceded by	Rodney MacDonald
Leader of the Opposition of Nova Scotia
In office June 2001 – June 19, 2009
Premier	John Hamm Rodney MacDonald
Preceded by	Robert Chisholm
Succeeded by	Stephen McNeil
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Cole Harbour
Incumbent
Assumed office August 5, 2003
Preceded by	Constituency established
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour
In office March 24, 1998 – August 5, 2003
Preceded by	Alan Mitchell
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	September 10, 1957 (1957-09-10) (age 54) Halifax, Nova Scotia
Political party	New Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Kelly Wilson
Alma mater	Dalhousie University University of King's College
Profession	Lawyer Naval officer Journalist
Military service
Service/branch	Canadian Forces
Rank	Sub-Lieutenant

Darrell Dexter (born September 10, 1957^[1]) is a Canadian lawyer, journalist and former naval officer who is serving as the 27th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. A member of the New Democratic Party, he has led the Nova Scotia NDP since 2001. He was elected Premier in 2009 after defeating Progressive Conservative Premier Rodney MacDonald in a landslide. He is the first NDP premier from a province east of Ontario.

Early life

Darrell Dexter was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia.^[2] and grew up in the rural community of Milton, Queens County. He is the son of a sheet metal worker and was the first member of his family to go to university.

Dexter holds degrees in education and law from Dalhousie University,^[3] and a degree in journalism from the University of King's College.^[4] He used his journalism degree for a period as a reporter for The Daily News in the early 1980s.^[2] Dexter also served in the Canadian Forces holding the rank of Sub-Lieutenant and was a Command Information Officer onboard HMCS Yukon and HMCS Qu'Appelle while deployed with Maritime Forces Pacific.^[2]

Dexter was a practicing lawyer before he entered public life.^[2] He was first elected as a Dartmouth City Councilor, serving from 1994 to 1996.^[5]

A former Chair and member Board of the Dartmouth Downtown Development Corporation,^[6] Dexter also sat as Chair of the Dartmouth Waterfront Development Task Force^{[citation needed]}. He was once a member of the Dartmouth General Hospital Commission and Chair of the Dartmouth Common Committee.^[7]

Dexter is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Victorian Order of Nurses (Dartmouth Branch), on the Audit Committee for the Heritage Credit Union, and a member of the Community Planning Association.^[8]

Dexter is married to Kelly Wilson and together they have one son, Harris.

Member of the Legislative Assembly

Dexter was elected to the Nova Scotia Legislature as MLA for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour in 1998 and served as critic for Economic Development and Health. He was re-elected in 1999,^[9] 2003,^[10] 2006^[11] and 2009.^[12]

Provincial leadership

Dexter became the 8th leader of the Nova Scotia NDP in June 2001 when he took over as interim leader after Helen MacDonald stepped down. He ran for leadership against John MacDonell in 2002 and won with 63% of the vote. ^[13]

2003 election campaign

Dexter's first provincial campaign in 2003 saw the NDP campaign trailing in third place in many polls and in danger of losing seats. The NDP looked to consolidate its strong support in the Metro Halifax area, and make gains in the conservative rural mainland and their former stronghold of Cape Breton, which had been ceded to the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.

Dexter campaigned to form Crown Corporation for car insurance to lower premiums by 50%, paying for health coverage in nursing homes, reducing waiting lists for surgeries and diagnostic tests, removing the provincial portion of the HST on home heating oil and children's prescription drugs, increase classroom resources for public schools, freezing tuition fees for Nova Scotia universities for a year while introducing a student debt relief plan and maintaining the balanced budget legacy of the Hamm government. However, he supported the governing PC's tax cuts which were criticized by the Liberals.

On election night, Dexter and the NDP did make small gains in the popular vote and won four more seats, including two in Dexter's hometown of Dartmouth, one in Cape Breton and one in Pictou County, and the Hamm government was reduced to a minority administration.

2006 election campaign

Main article: Nova Scotia general election, 2006

The MacDonald Government called an election for June 13, 2006, and Dexter was once again the NDP's candidate for Premier. At the outset, most pollsters had the NDP at the same level of support it had in 2003, roughly 30% and behind the Tories in second place. Dexter campaigned on a platform to improve services for seniors, lowering the cost of heating oil for homes, a 10% cut in post-secondary education tuition, subsidized child care and public auto insurance.

Dexter performance in the leaders' debate was improved in the eyes of many pundits. The NDP did not win government, but did make major gains on election day. The party gained five seats for a total of 20, the party's best performance in its history. Dexter also was easily re-elected in his own seat of Cole Harbour with 59.5%. The NDP gained roughly 4% of the popular vote to 34.5%. The NDP also won seats in the South Shore region of Nova Scotia, an area where it had not performed well previously, specifically Shelburne and Queens.

Opposition Leader

Dexter was Opposition Leader to both Conservative Premier John Hamm and Rodney MacDonald. He credited is ability to work with Hamm to get things done as the reason for the NDP increase in seats in the 2006 election.^[14]

Within a few months of the 2006 election, the NDP took a lead in the opinion polls, and has held it consistently since.^[15]

2009 election campaign

Main article: Nova Scotia general election, 2009

Dexter at an NDP meeting in Halifax, 2009.

Dexter's third provincial campaign in 2009 saw the NDP campaign leading in many polls and on target to win a minority government. The NDP looked to hold its support in the Metro Halifax area, and make gains on the South Shore and rural mainland Nova Scotia.

Dexter campaigned on a document called Better Deal 2009 which came with 50 promises to be completed over 4 years, and focused on 7 key commitments of creating new jobs, helping to keep emergency rooms open, taking the HST off of home electricity, fixing rural roads, helping seniors, giving young people a reason to stay in the province, and more renewable energy.^[16]

On June 9, 2009, Dexter was elected the first NDP premier of Nova Scotia with a majority of the seats in the Nova Scotia legislature.^[17]

Premier of Nova Scotia

On June 9, 2009, Dexter was elected the first NDP Premier of Nova Scotia, and the first in Atlantic Canada.^[12]

He was officially sworn in as Premier of Nova Scotia on June 19, 2009.^[18]

Dexter's government was elected on a centrist and mildly pro-business platform, promising to deliver balanced budgets for Nova Scotia which has been characterized as more Red Tory than social democratic, though the party pledged more money for healthcare, daycare and public sector workers while removing the provincial portion of the HST off home heating oil.^[19]

First year

The Dexter government struggled for the first year of its mandate to control spending on public programs while increasing revenue. It paid off when Dexter's minister of finance Graham Steele posted the provincial budget on April 4, 2011 showing a $447 million surplus - one of the largest in Nova Scotia's history and only the 7th surplus since 1950. Major factors in recording this surplus were a one-time adjustment from the federal government of almost $200 million as well as an increase to the HST by two percentage points.^[20] However, Dexter's government also made several unpopular decisions, including removing the freeze on tuition fee hikes for Nova Scotia universities^[21] as well as budget cuts and freezes in public education and health care spending.^[20]

Dexter was Premier when Auditor General Jacques LaPointe revealed suspicious expense claims by MLAs in 2010. Dexter himself was revealed to have billed taxpayers for his barrister fees, which he subsequently repaid.^[20] Three former and one incumbent Member of the Legislative Assembly, Liberals Dave Wilson, Russell MacKinnon, Progressive Conservative Richard Hurlburt, and former NDP turned Independent MLA Trevor Zinck were criminally charged for their involvement.^[21]

The first year in office, Dexter and his NDP government sat in the legislature for more days than the previous government's last 4 sessions combined; the Conservatives sat 15 days in the Fall of 2007, 21 days in the Spring of 2008, 16 days in the Fall of 2008 and 3 days in the Spring of 2009 when an election was called.^[22] Dexter's NDP government sat for 35 days in the Fall of 2009^[23] and 32 days in the Spring of 2010.^[24]

Legislative highlights in the first year included the province beginning to help cover the travel cost for out-of-province medical care,^[25] increasing funding to women's shelters for the first time in a decade,^[26] creating a Graduate Retention Rebate for graduates who stay in Nova Scotia,^[27] banning uranium mining^[28] and the use of cosmetic pesticides,^[29] banning political donations by unions and businesses,^[30] and launching a new renewable energy strategy with a target of 40% renewable energy by 2020.^[31]

In December 2009, at an international summit in Copenhagen, Dexter was awarded a Climate Leadership in Canada award for putting a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Cap on electricity in Nova Scotia.^[32]

After coming to power, Dexter and his NDP government were shaken by multiple scandals involving expense claims and campaign contributions. On November 10, 2009, it was discovered that members of Dexter's new government had rung up excessive meal and drink bills at the taxpayers' expense.^[33]

On February 3, 2010, Nova Scotia auditor general Jacques Lapointe released a report stating that many Nova Scotia politicians had filed expense claims that were "excessive or inappropriate" because of inadequate spending controls that invite errors and misuse.^[34] Lapointe's report found that politicians had used taxpayers' money to buy items including televisions, cameras and other electronic equipment, custom-made furniture, model boats, and espresso makers.^[35] Lapointe’s report questioned the appropriateness of the spending habits of all three main political parties. Dexter himself expensed $7,650 for a pair of laptops and a digital camera, while taxpayers picked up his annual $3,500 professional fee to the Nova Scotia Barrister's Society.^[36] Dexter later rejected a call for a public inquiry into the MLA spending scandal, saying that due to the Auditor General's report, excessive and inappropriate spending by MLAs would be curtailed.^[37] Dexter promised reforms to the expense system, and the first bill he introduced in the spring of 2010 was An Act to Establish a Management Commission for the Effective Administration of the House of Assembly,^[38] saying "I promised Nova Scotians that their demands for an open and transparent system for MLA expenses would be met." ^[39]

Auditor general Jacques Lapointe also revealed that Dexter used more of his constituency allowance for extra staff payments than any other New Democrat, according to figures released on February 18, 2010. Lapointe flagged the payments issue in his February 3, 2010, report because there was no evidence remittances for the Canada Pension Plan, employment insurance and income tax were made to the Canada Revenue Agency.^[40]

On February 25, 2010, Elections Nova Scotia fined the governing NDP $10,000, the maximum fine under the governing act,^[41] for accepting an illegal campaign donation from a trade union, referring the case to police. The agency said the NDP took more than $5,000 from a single donor and failed to return $45,000 from eight unions and one union affiliate, though it "knew or should have known" the money was all from the Mainland Building and Construction Trades Council. After the release of the report, Dexter stated that he had believed the money had been returned. Party secretary Ed Wark resigned, citing a "serious error in judgment".^[42]

Second year

The Dexter government used the second year of its mandate to continue to get spending under control while increasing revenue. Dexter also lobbied the federal government on helping with "nation-building" projects including a Lower Churchill Fall renewable energy project^[43] from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia and awarding a national ship building contract to the Halifax shipyard.^[44]

Dexter's NDP government continued to sit in the legislature for double the days of the previous government. Significant legislation in the second year included creating the province's first debt-cap for university students,^[45] a tax reduction for small business,^[46] an Auditor General Act giving that office more power and access to information,^[47] an indefinite moratorium on oil and gas exploration on Georges Bank,^[48] and Canada's first "Lemon Law" which requires used car dealers to give buyers more information.^[49]

Two decisions saw significant opposition during Dexter's second year as Premier. The first was his government's replacing an early learning program called Reading Recovery with Succeeding in Reading. Critics were concerned changing programs would hurt children's literacy, while advocates argued that the old program was too expensive and the new program would help more children in more grades.^[50]

Business advocates were concerned that a bill that was barely debated by the opposition in the legislature in the bill's first stages would give power to labour unions, and they held up passage of the bill by several weeks. The bill combined the activities of six boards into one unified Labour Board and created a Labour Management Review Committee that consisted of managers and employees from unionized workplaces. Critics wanted non-unionized business people to have a say in how workplaces become unionized and worried about a preamble that supported including collective bargaining as part of the Freedom to Assemble, while advocates argued that the committee was required by law to consult with businesses and that the preamble had been in the Canada Labour Code since 1972. The government amended the bill to guarantee non-unionized businesses are consulted on potential labour changes affecting matters including union drives.^[51]

The 2011 budget was tabled on April 5. Although the final figures for 2010 showed a surprising surplus,^[52] Dexter's Finance Minister Graham Steele estimated a deficit for 2011 of $389 million, and promised to continue with their 4 year plan to get Nova Scotia out of unsustainable spending through both economic growth and trimming department budgets.^[53] The NDP pledged to reduce debt servicing costs, expand their ban March Madness spending in departments, keep unbudgeted spending low and continue to review department programs. The budget also pledged to open Canada's first Collaborative Emergency Centres as a way of keeping emergency health services in rural Nova Scotia, reduce the price of prescription drugs for people on Medicare, provide tax relief by increasing the Basic Personal Amount, and give more money to people living on income assistance. Critics suggested the projected deficit was higher than it should be as a way of the government providing good news when the deficit turns out to be lower and called for more cuts and faster cuts, while Dexter's government said unpredictable conditions in the worldwide economy required caution and stated the opposition would need to explain where extra cuts would come from.^[54]

References

1. ^ [1], Canadaeast.com, April 12, 2010
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Who is Premier Darrell Dexter?, The Coast, June 4, 2009
3. ^ Dal produces 13th premier, "The Sunday Herald", October 25, 2009
4. ^ Dexter to get King’s alumnus award, Metro, May 7, 2010
5. ^ Nova Scotia Votes, The Daily News, October 16, 1994
6. ^ It's your last dance, board tells strip bars, The Daily News, November 30, 1993
7. ^ Dartmouth bus terminal move crosses hurdle, The Daily News, March 30, 1995
8. ^ Ex-alderman seeks nomination, The Daily News, August 16, 1997
9. ^ Dartmouth looks familiar: Most seats unchanged, The Daily News, July 28, 1999
10. ^ Cole Harbour, "The Chronicle Herald", August 6, 2003
11. ^ NDP Leader Dexter elected in Cole Harbour , "CBC News", June 13, 2006
12. ^ ^{a b} Ceremony set for swearing in Nova Scotia's 1st NDP premier. "CBC News", June 12, 2009.
13. ^ "Dexter holds on to NDP helm: Interim leader makes it official with decisive win over MacDonell". The Daily News. 3 June 2002. 
14. ^ "Tories win minority, lose two seats". CBC. http://www.cbc.ca/nsvotes2006/. Retrieved 14 June 2006. 
15. ^ "Public Opinion Polls". Election Almanac. http://www.electionalmanac.com/canada/novascotia/polls.php. Retrieved 25 October 2011. 
16. ^ "N.S. NDP unveils campaign platform with $78.9 million in new commitments". Canadian Press. 12 May 2009. http://www.canadaeast.com/news/article/665274. Retrieved 25 October 2011. 
17. ^ "N.S. voters elect 1st NDP government". CBC.ca. June 9, 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nsvotes2009/story/2009/06/09/nsvotes-main.html. Retrieved June 21, 2009. 
18. ^ "Atlantic Canada's 1st NDP government takes office in Nova Scotia". CBC.ca. June 19, 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/06/19/ns-dexter-cabinet.html. Retrieved June 21, 2009. 
19. ^ National Post Editorial Board: Darrell Dexter's Victory, National Post, June 11, 2009
20. ^ ^{a b c} N.S. budget makes HST highest in Canada, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, April 6, 2010
21. ^ ^{a b} Nova Scotia lifts tuition freeze, MacLean's, February 1, 2011
22. ^ http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/house_business/status60_2.html
23. ^ http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/house_business/status61_1.html
24. ^ http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/house_business/status.html#status
25. ^ "C-Health". Chealth.canoe.ca. http://chealth.canoe.ca/channel_health_news_details.asp?news_id=30458&news_channel_id=131&channel_id=131. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
26. ^ [2]^{[dead link]}
27. ^ CA. "Rebate will keep graduates in N.S., says Zann - Community - Living - Truro Daily News". Trurodaily.com. http://www.trurodaily.com/Community/2009-05-25/article-351442/Rebate-will-keep-graduates-in-NS-says-Zann/1. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
28. ^ "timestranscript.com - N.S. uranium ban to be law - Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada". Timestranscript.canadaeast.com. 2009-10-15. http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/824856. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
29. ^ "Non-Essential Pesticides Ban for Nova Scotia | News Releases | Government of Nova Scotia". Gov.ns.ca. 2010-05-04. http://www.gov.ns.ca/news/details.asp?id=20100504003. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
30. ^ CA. "NDP ends union, company donations to N.S. parties; cuts off Liberal trust cash - Politics - News - The Amherst Daily News". Amherstdaily.com. http://www.amherstdaily.com/Politics/2009-10-21/article-389439/NDP-ends-union-company-donations-to-NS-parties-cuts-off-Liberal-trust-cash/1. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
31. ^ "This page is available to GlobePlus subscribers". Theglobeandmail.com. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/atlantic/nova-scotia-hikes-renewable-power-targets/article1544418/. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
32. ^ "media centre | Environmental Defence". Environmentaldefence.ca. 2011-03-25. http://www.environmentaldefence.ca/pressroom/viewnews.php?id=688. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
33. ^ [3]^{[dead link]}
34. ^ Nova Scotia auditor general finds inappropriate spending by politicians , Yahoo! News, February 3, 2010
35. ^ MLA expenses audit provokes mea culpas, CBC News, February 3, 2010
36. ^ Secrets and lies, down east, The National Post, February 19, 2010
37. ^ No need for expenses inquiry: premier, CBC.ca, February 11, 2010
38. ^ http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/HOUSE_BUSINESS/status.html#1
39. ^ "New Commission Will Oversee House Spending | News Releases | Government of Nova Scotia". Gov.ns.ca. 2010-03-26. http://www.gov.ns.ca/news/details.asp?id=20100326001. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
40. ^ Dexter’s MLA staff got biggest pay boosts, Chronicle-Herald, February 19, 2010
41. ^ CA (2010-03-01). "NDP fined $10,000 for inappropriate contributions - Politics - News". The Cape Breton Post. http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Politics/2010-02-25/article-837063/NDP-fined-%2410%2C000-for-inappropriate-contributions/1. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
42. ^ N.S. NDP fined over union donation, CBC.ca, February 25, 2010
43. ^ "Historic hydro pact signed between N.L., N.S.". CBC. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/11/18/nl-muskrat-deal-1118.html. Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
44. ^ "Stakes are high for Dexter over shipbuilding bid". CBC. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/07/10/ns-shipbuilding-bid-dexter.html. Retrieved 10 July 2011. 
45. ^ "Student debt cap". CBC. 6 April 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/04/06/ns-student-debt-cap.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
46. ^ "N.S. budget squeezes out help for students". CBC. 5 April 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/04/05/ns-budget-2011.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
47. ^ "Auditor general gets broader document access". CBC. 10 November 2010. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/11/10/ns-auditor-general-business-documents.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
48. ^ "Georges Bank drilling ban to be indefinite". CBC. 3 November 2010. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/11/03/ns-georges-bank-drilling-moratorium.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
49. ^ "Used car lemon law coming to N.S.". CBC. 15 November 2010. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/11/15/ns-used-car-lemon.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
50. ^ "New reading program for students". CBC. 26 April 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/04/26/ns-reading-program-jennex.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
51. ^ "NDP to change labour legislation". CBC. 9 December 2010. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/12/09/ns-labour-bill-amendments.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
52. ^ "N.S. ends year with $447M surplus: premier". CBC. 4 April 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/04/04/ns-budget-surplus.html. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
53. ^ "N.S. budget squeezes out help for students". CBC. 5 April 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/04/05/ns-budget-2011.html. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
54. ^ "N.S. to cut small-business tax". CBC. 29 March 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/03/29/ns-steele-small-business.html. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 

External links

• Office of the Premier
• Members of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly
• Darrell Dexter NDP caucus biography

Persondata
Name	Dexter, Darrell
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 10, 1957
Place of birth	Halifax, Nova Scotia
Date of death
Place of death