Gerald Regan facts for kids

Gerald Augustine Paul Regan PC QC (February 13, 1928 – November 26, 2019) was a Canadian politician (as federal MP and later as Nova Scotia MLA), who served as the 19th premier of Nova Scotia from 1970 to 1978.

Early life and education

Regan was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, of partial Irish descent, the son of Rose Mary (née Greene) and Walter Edward Regan. He graduated from Dalhousie Law School and was admitted to the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society in 1954.

Legal career

He became one of the region's best known labour lawyers, and his high-profile image led to an invitation to enter politics.

Political career

He was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1963 federal election. He resigned his seat in 1965 when he was named leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. Regan entered the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1967, and aggressively pursued the government of Premier George Isaac Smith as Leader of the opposition. Regan led a fourteen-hour filibuster against the government's plans to increase the sales tax in 1969.

Regan's Liberals won a minority government in 1970, and were re-elected with a majority in 1974.

As premier, Regan supported industrialization and the development of offshore gas and oil. His first government amended the province's labour code to prevent courts from issuing injunctions to prevent picketing in labour disputes, and the office of the provincial ombudsman was established. In its second term, the Regan government nationalized the Nova Scotia Light and Power electrical utility, and consolidated electricity supply under the Nova Scotia Power Corporation. A massive plan for the development of tidal power in the Bay of Fundy was also announced.

His government was defeated by John Buchanan's Progressive Conservative Party in the 1978 general election, in part due to the oil shock's effect on the economy.

Regan returned to the federal House of Commons in the 1980 federal election, and was appointed Minister of Labour and Minister of State for International Trade in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Regan was defeated along with the Liberal government in the 1984 election.

Personal life

Regan's wife was Anita Carole Thomas (Harrison), whose father, John Harrison, was a Saskatchewan Liberal Member of Parliament. They had six children, including Geoff Regan, 36th Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, who also served as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in the government of Paul Martin from 2000 until 2006, and who served as MP for Halifax West; Nancy Regan, a local television personality with ATV; and Laura Regan, an actress.

Regan died on November 26, 2019, at the age of 91.

Canadian federal election, 1962: Halifax
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Elected
	Progressive Conservative	Robert McCleave	42,964	23.77	Y
	Progressive Conservative	Edmund L. Morris	41,804	23.12	Y
	Liberal	John Lloyd	41,472	22.94
	Liberal	Gerald A. Regan	40,635	22.48
	New Democratic	James H. Aitchison	6,464	3.58
	New Democratic	Perry Ronayne	5,653	3.13
	Social Credit	Robert J. Kuglin	1,784	0.99
Total valid votes			180,776	100.00