39 Facts About Darrell Dexter

Darrell Elvin Dexter was born on 1957 and is a Canadian lawyer, journalist and former naval officer who served as the 27th premier of Nova Scotia from 2009 to 2013.

Darrell Dexter became Premier in 2009 after his party defeated the governing Progressive Conservative Party, leading the first NDP government in Atlantic Canada and the second east of Manitoba.

Darrell Dexter's government was defeated in the 2013 election, becoming the first Nova Scotia government in 131 years to be denied a second mandate; Dexter himself was defeated in his constituency by 21 votes.

Darrell Dexter was born on September 10,1957, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Elvin, a steel metal worker, and Florence Dexter, and grew up in the rural community of Milton in Queens County.

Darrell Dexter was the first member of his family to go to university.

Darrell Dexter volunteered for Alexa McDonough in her 1979 federal election campaign.

Darrell Dexter holds degrees in education and law from Dalhousie University, and a degree in journalism from the University of King's College.

Darrell Dexter used his journalism degree for a period as a reporter for The Daily News in the early 1980s.

Darrell Dexter was a practicing lawyer before he entered public life.

Darrell Dexter was first elected as a Dartmouth City Councilor, serving from 1994 to 1996.

In September 2015, Darrell Dexter joined Global Public Affairs as Vice Chair.

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

Darrell 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.

Darrell Dexter was re-elected in 1999,2003,2006 and 2009.

Darrell 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.

The MacDonald Government called an election for June 13,2006, and Darrell Dexter was the NDP's candidate for Premier.

Darrell Dexter was Opposition Leader to both premier John Hamm and Rodney MacDonald of the PCs.

Darrell Dexter credited his ability to work with Hamm to get things done as the reason for the NDP increase in seats in the 2006 election.

Darrell 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.

On June 9,2009, Darrell Dexter was elected the first NDP premier of Nova Scotia with a majority government.

Darrell Dexter's party won the general election held on June 9,2009 and became the first NDP government in Nova Scotia, and the first in Atlantic Canada.

Darrell Dexter was sworn in as Premier of Nova Scotia on June 19,2009.

The Darrell Dexter government struggled for the first year of its mandate to control spending on public programs while increasing revenue.

However, Darrell Dexter's government made several unpopular decisions, including removing the freeze on tuition fee hikes for Nova Scotia universities as well as budget cuts and freezes in public education and health care spending.

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

Darrell 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.

Darrell 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.

The Darrell Dexter government used the second year of its mandate to continue to get spending under control while increasing revenue.

Darrell Dexter lobbied the federal government on helping with "nation-building" projects including the Lower Churchill Falls renewable energy project from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia and awarding a national ship building contract to the Halifax shipyard.

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 Darrell 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.

The third year of Darrell Dexter's mandate brought significant news for the province.

Darrell Dexter's government opened Canada's first Collaborative Emergency Centres to start to address emergency room closures in rural Nova Scotia.

Darrell Dexter made a surprise announcement the day before Finance Minister Graham Steele's budget, announcing that the HST would be reduced by 1 point in 2014 and a second point in 2015.

The fourth year of Darrell Dexter's government included the introduction of a balanced budget, and significant debate over the Maritime Link project with the province of Newfoundland.

The Darrell Dexter government was heavily defeated in the 2013 provincial election which saw the NDP collapse to only 7 seats, reducing it to third party status in the legislature behind Stephen McNeil's Liberals and the PCs.

Darrell Dexter ran in Cole Harbour-Portland Valley, essentially a reconfigured version of his old seat, and lost to Liberal candidate Tony Ince by only 21 votes.

Darrell Dexter was the first sitting premier of Nova Scotia to be unseated in his own riding since Ernest Howard Armstrong in 1925.

Darrell Dexter served as premier until his successor Stephen McNeil was sworn in as the 28th Premier of Nova Scotia on October 22,2013, and later announced on November 16,2013 that he would resign as NDP leader, effective November 23,2013.

Darrell Dexter was appointed Honorary Distinguished Fellow at Dalhousie University's MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance, where he teaches on public policy.