Former N.S. premier championed offshore oil

Former Nova Scotia premier Gerald Regan, whose political accomplishments were later overshadowed by a sexual assault trial, has died at the age of 91.

Regan, a lawyer and onetime sportscaster, served eight years as the province’s 19th premier, with his Liberals winning a minority government in 1970 and a majority in 1974.

Regan championed the development of offshore oil and gas and the harnessing of the Bay of Fundy tides for energy.

Premier Stephen McNeil said Wednesday that Regan “governed with a true sense of liberal values — investing in people, creating economic development and ensuring fiscal responsibility.”

Regan oversaw a province he believed could become a prime trading area thanks to steel, petroleum and electrical energy.

However, rising energy costs, due largely to a spike in foreign oil prices, led to the Liberals’ downfall in 1978, when John Buchanan’s Progressive Conservatives won power.

Regan moved back to the federal arena, where he had served in the early 1960s, winning election to the House of Commons in 1980. He served in the cabinets of prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and John Turner, holding the labour, international trade and sports portfolios.

He was working as a lobbyist and sitting on several corporate boards when the RCMP confirmed in 1993 that he was being investigated for allegations of sexual misconduct dating back decades.

The trial captivated the nation; after a five-year legal battle, Regan was declared not guilty on eight charges.

Gerald Regan was born on Feb. 13, 1928, in Windsor, N.S. His Newfoundland-born mother sometimes attended Liberal rallies the same night his father attended Tory events.

Regan worked himself through Dalhousie Law School by broadcasting radio sports. He handled a nightly sports program from 1954 to 1956 and covered the legislature for a network of Nova Scotia radio stations in 1957.

He gained prominence as a top labour lawyer in 195758 when he defended workers in a bitter 14-month dispute with Canada Gypsum Co. in Windsor, N.S.

Regan’s career in politics began with a series of losses, but he finally made it to Parliament in 1963.

He returned to Nova Scotia politics in 1965, winning the Liberal Party leadership at the age of 37.

He married Carole Harrison in 1956. They raised six children, including son Geoff, who became a Liberal MP and Speaker.

Gerald Regan