Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09HALIFAX42
2009-06-26 15:39:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Halifax
Cable title:  

BIO DATA REPORT: DEXTER, DARRELL E. -- PREMIER OF NOVA

Tags:  PGOV PINR CA 
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P R 261539Z JUN 09
FM AMCONSUL HALIFAX
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1406
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0618
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHHA/AMCONSUL HALIFAX 1498
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HALIFAX 000042 

SIPDIS

FOR WHA/CAN AND INR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR CA
SUBJECT: BIO DATA REPORT: DEXTER, DARRELL E. -- PREMIER OF NOVA
SCOTIA, CANADA

REF: HALIFAX 0039

HALIFAX 00000042 001.2 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HALIFAX 000042

SIPDIS

FOR WHA/CAN AND INR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR CA
SUBJECT: BIO DATA REPORT: DEXTER, DARRELL E. -- PREMIER OF NOVA
SCOTIA, CANADA

REF: HALIFAX 0039

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1. As reported earlier (reftel),Darrell Dexter's New
Democratic Party (NDP) toppled the incumbent Tory government of
Nova Scotia in a provincial election on June 9, 2009, a victory
that saw the party win 31 of the 52 legislative seats. Dexter
and his party assumed power 10 days later on June 19.


2. NAME: Darrell E. Dexter


3. AGE: 52


4. PLACE OF BIRTH: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada


5. MARITAL STATUS: Married to Kelly Wilson. They have one son,
Harris


6. POSITION: Premier of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada
since June 19, 2009.


7. PRIVATE CAREER: A practicing lawyer (insurance law) before
entering politics; previously served in the Canadian Navy as
Command Information Officer for the Navy's west coast fleet and
as a sub-lieutenant on two naval vessels.

8: POLITICAL CAREER:

-- First elected to the Nova Scotia Legislature in 1998,
re-elected in 1999, 2003, 2006 and 2009.
-- Became leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party in 2001.
-- Before his election as MLA he was active in his local
municipal council.
-- Worked for several years in doing behind-the-scenes work with
the Nova Scotia NDP party.


9. EDUCATION:

-- Bachelor degrees in Education (Dalhousie University, Halifax,
Nova Scotia) and Journalism (University of King's College,
Halifax, Nova Scotia)
-- Law degree (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia)


10. MEMBERSHIPS: Member of numerous community and wildlife
organizations; member of the Barristers Society of Nova Scotia

COMMENT:


11. With his New Democratic Party's majority victory in the
2009 Nova Scotia provincial election, Darrell Dexter became the
first-ever NDP Premier east of the province of Ontario. As
party faithful and election-watchers unequivocally concluded,
the party's historic victory is attributable to one major
factor: the strength of party leader, and now premier, Darrell
Dexter. Dexter is highly regarded by friends and political foes
alike as a nice, down-to-earth kind of guy who has the interests
of his constituents at heart. However, his victory came about
primarily through his skill as a natural consensus builder,
evidenced early on by his ability to bring together several
differing factions within own his party. When he became NDP

leader in 2001, Dexter inherited a party that still had a heavy
influence of what pundits like to call the "fiery, socialist old
guard"--members who were bitterly opposed to people like Dexter
who wanted to move the party to a more centrist position on the
political spectrum.


12. Dexter believed the party's only hope to achieve success at
the ballot box would be soften its socialist edges and present
the party as a viable alternative to the province's two
traditional parties: the Progressive Conservatives (Tories) and
the Liberals. As he began to implement that strategy, some of
the old guard left, chastising Dexter for abandoning those who
had helped build the party. Others, however, were convinced to
join him in this new middle-of-the-road quest, swayed by what
they saw as Dexter's sound and pragmatic approach to achieving
electoral success. In a few short years the party was
noticeably different from that of its earlier days: a party
which still held true to the socialist principle of making life
better for Nova Scotians, but one which also put a heavy
emphasis on fiscal responsibility and working cooperatively with
business and industry.


13. As Dexter set out to sell his party to the electorate, he
was initially viewed with some suspicion, as voters were afraid
of embracing a "socialist" premier who they had no doubt would
be committed to raising taxes and driving business out of the
province. But through Dexter's growing credibility, he slowly
turned around the skeptics to the point where they started to
take him seriously and began to see him as having the right
stuff to be the premier. With that he was able to attract
credible candidates to run for the party, along with a large

HALIFAX 00000042 002.2 OF 002


cadre of volunteers to help mount a highly successful election
campaign. The result was Dexter leading his party to the
pinnacle of success on June 9, 2009: a majority win and an
undeniable vote of confidence from Nova Scotians.


14. Post has had a longstanding cordial relationship with
Dexter and his inner circle of advisors who come from both the
old and young guards of the party. All, like their predecessors
the Tories, attach great importance to issues of interest to the
United States: fostering bilateral trade, increasing energy
exports to the United States, and working cooperatively with the
Canadian federal government on secure border issues. Dexter is
also a frequent visitor to the United States, primarily to play
golf even if (as he has confided) it means going by himself when
none of his golfing partners is available to travel with him.
Overall, post anticipates seeing this cordial relationship
continue and expand as this well-liked and respected Premier
settles down to implementing an agenda overwhelmingly embraced
by the voters of Nova Scotia. END COMMENT.
FOSTER