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Angus Lewis Macdonald

The Honourable
Angus Lewis Macdonald
PC QC
Angus L Macdonald portrait.jpg
Macdonald in the 1940s
12th Premier of Nova Scotia
In office
September 5, 1933 – July 10, 1940
Monarch
Lieutenant Governor
Preceded by Gordon S. Harrington
Succeeded by Alexander S. MacMillan
14th Premier of Nova Scotia
In office
September 8, 1945 – April 13, 1954
Monarch
Lieutenant Governor
Preceded by Alexander S. MacMillan
Succeeded by Harold Connolly
MLA for Halifax South
In office
August 22, 1933 – July 10, 1940
Preceded by District created
Succeeded by Joseph R. Murphy
In office
October 23, 1945 – April 13, 1954
Preceded by Joseph R. Murphy
Succeeded by Richard Donahoe
MP for Kingston City
In office
August 12, 1940 – June 11, 1945
Preceded by Norman McLeod Rogers
Succeeded by Thomas Kidd
Personal details
Born (1890-08-10)August 10, 1890
Dunvegan, Nova Scotia
Died April 13, 1954(1954-04-13) (aged 63)
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Agnes Foley Macdonald (1894–1979)
Children 4
Religion Roman Catholic

Angus Lewis Macdonald PC QC (August 10, 1890 – April 13, 1954), popularly known as 'Angus L.', was a Canadian lawyer, law professor and politician from Nova Scotia. 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 returned to power while their main rivals, the Conservatives, failed to win a single seat. The Liberal rallying cry, "All's Well With Angus L.," was so effective that the Conservatives despaired of ever beating Macdonald. He died in office in 1954.

Macdonald's more than 15 years as premier brought fundamental changes. Under his leadership, the Nova Scotia government spent more than $100 million paving roads, building bridges, extending electrical transmission lines and improving public education. Macdonald dealt with the mass unemployment of the Great Depression by putting the jobless to work on highway projects. He felt direct government relief payments would weaken moral character, undermine self-respect and discourage personal initiative. However, he also faced the reality that the financially strapped Nova Scotia government could not afford to participate fully in federal relief programs that required matching contributions from the provinces.

Macdonald was considered one of his province's most eloquent political orators. 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. He contended that Nova Scotians were victims of a national policy that protected the industries of Ontario and Quebec with steep tariffs forcing people to pay higher prices for manufactured goods. It was no accident, Macdonald said, that Nova Scotia had gone from the richest province per capita before Canadian Confederation in 1867 to poorest by the 1930s.


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