Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 29, 2008



Angus Lewis Macdonald (1890–1954) was a Nova Scotian lawyer, law professor and politician. He served as the Liberal premier of Nova Scotia from 1933 to 1940 when he became the federal minister of defence for naval services. He oversaw the creation of an effective Canadian navy and Allied convoy service during World War II. After the war, he returned to Nova Scotia to become premier again. In the election of 1945, his Liberals swept back into power while their main rivals, the Conservatives, failed to win a single seat. The Liberal rallying cry, "All's Well With Angus L." seemed so convincing that the Conservatives despaired of ever beating Macdonald. He died suddenly in office in 1954. Macdonald's more than 15 years as premier brought fundamental changes. Under his leadership, the Nova Scotian government spent more than $100 million paving roads, building bridges, extending electrical systems and improving public education. Macdonald dealt with the mass unemployment of the Great Depression by putting the jobless to work on highway projects. Macdonald was one of the most eloquent political orators in Nova Scotian history. He articulated a philosophy of provincial autonomy, arguing that poorer provinces needed a greater share of national tax revenues to pay for health, education and welfare. (more...)

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