Former Nova Scotia premier served in federal cabinet
HALIFAX — Former Nova Scotia premier Gerald Regan, whose political accomplishments were overshadowed by a sexual assault trial that resulted in an acquittal, died Tuesday at the age of 91.
Regan, a lawyer and former sportscaster, served eight years as the province’s 19th premier, with his Liberals winning a minority government in 1970 and a majority in 1974.
Regarded as a dynamic, fresh face when elected premier in 1970, Regan pushed an agenda of economic development and championed the development of offshore oil and gas resources and the harnessing of the Bay of Fundy tides for energy.
“Gerald Regan believed in the potential of Nova Scotia, with a vision for our future prosperity,” current Premier Stephen McNeil said in a statement.
Discontent over Nova Scotians’ rising energy costs, due largely to a spike in foreign oil prices, led to Regan’s provincial downfall in 1978, when the Liberals were swept from power by
John Buchanan’s Progressive Conservatives.
Regan moved back into the federal arena, where he had previously served in the early 1960s, winning election to the House of Commons in 1980. He served in the cabinets of former prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and John Turner, holding the labour, international trade and sports portfolios before leaving to pursue business opportunities after he and the Liberal government were defeated in 1984.
He was working as a lobbyist and sitting on several corporate boards when the RCMP confirmed in October 1993 that he was being investigated for allegations of sexual misconduct dating back decades.
At the conclusion of a five-year legal battle, Regan and his family wept as he was declared not guilty on eight sex-related charges on Dec. 18, 1998.
At age of 70, he was acquitted of one count of rape, two of attempted rape, three of indecent assault and two of unlawful confinement. There were three accusers and some of their allegations dated back more than 40 years to when they were between 14 and 24 years old.
After the verdicts were read into the court record, Regan said: “We’re tremendously relieved. It’s been a long, long ordeal.“
Regan was born on Feb. 13, 1928 in Windsor, N.S., and raised in a political family of Irish Catholics.
He married Carole Harrison, the daughter of a Saskatchewan MP, in 1956. They raised six children including son Geoff, a Liberal MP and Speaker of the House of Commons.