Gordon Sidney Harrington Explained

Gordon Sidney Harrington
Birth Date:August 7, 1883
Birth Place:Halifax, Nova Scotia
Death Place:Halifax, Nova Scotia
Office1:11th Premier of Nova Scotia
Term Start1:August 11, 1930
Term End1:September 5, 1933
Monarch1:George V
Lieutenant Governor1:James Cranswick Tory
Frank Stanfield
Walter Harold Covert
Predecessor1:Edgar Nelson Rhodes
Successor1:Angus Lewis Macdonald
Office2:MLA for Cape Breton Centre
Term Start2:June 25, 1925
Term End2:August 22, 1933
Predecessor2:first member
Alongside2:Joseph Macdonald
Successor2:Michael Dwyer
Office3:MLA for Cape Breton South
Term Start3:August 22, 1933
Term End3:June 20, 1937
Predecessor3:first member
Successor3:George M. Morrison
Profession:lawyer
Spouse:Katherine Agnes MacDonald
Children:none

Gordon Sidney Harrington (August 7, 1883  - July 4, 1943) was a Nova Scotia politician and the 11th premier of Nova Scotia from 1930 to 1933.

He was mayor of Glace Bay from 1913 to 1915 when he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force fighting in World War I. He was elected a Conservative MLA in 1925 representing Cape Breton Centre and his support from miners helped ensure the Conservative Party's victory in that election. Harrington became Minister of Labour in the government of Edgar N. Rhodes and became Premier of Nova Scotia when Rhodes left provincial politics to enter the federal cabinet in 1930.

During Harrington's term he was able to end ongoing labour disturbance among miners in Cape Breton which had afflicted the previous two premiers. He improved the provincial department of mining, fought for the coal and steel industries in Ottawa, and passed legislation calling for a national policy on coal and steel.

However, his government was unable to combat the Great Depression and was defeated by the Liberals in the 1933 election. Harrington remained in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly until 1937. His government was the last Conservative government until Robert Stanfield was able to take power in 1956.

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