Donald William Cameron

Who is Donald William Cameron?

Donald William Cameron was the 22nd Premier of Nova Scotia, Canada, from February 1991 to June 1993.

His administration was known for a smaller cabinet, supporting anti-discrimination measures, and amending the human rights act to extend protection to gays and lesbians. His government also privatized Nova Scotia Power Incorporated, the largest privatization move in Canada at the time. Cameron also introduced merit-based hiring codes, signed on to the Atlantic Procurement Agreement and introduced mandatory testing in grades 3, 6, 9 and 12 with public release of test scores. Cameron's government established a non-partisan electoral boundaries revision commission in an attempt to end gerrymandering.

Cameron began the practice of non-political appointment of judges, deregulation of gasoline prices and made investments in double-stack rail service from the Port of Halifax as well as four-lane highways. His efforts in ending party patronage marked a change in politics in Nova Scotia that his successors, John Savage, and John Hamm were able to continue, making appointments a more transparent process.

Cameron is also remembered as an aggressive supporter of a disastrous development project. He was instrumental, first as a local MLA, then as industry minister in the government of John Buchanan, and then as premier, in the development of the Westray Mine in Pictou County, Nova Scotia.