Gordon Sidney Harrington
Gordon Sidney Harrington (
August 7,
1883-
July 4,
1943) was a
Nova Scotia politician and
Premier 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 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 his predecessor,
Edgar N. Rhodes left provincial politics to ender 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
legislative assembly until 1937. His government was the last Conservative government until
Robert Stanfield was able to take power in 1956.