Contrary to all predictions, the Liberals swept Nova Scotia in the Dominion elections on March 26. The Liberals obtained ten seats in the House of Commons, and the Conservatives only one. In Cape Breton South, Claire Gillis, candidate of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, defeated a Liberal by a narrow margin. It was the first time in Canadian history that a C.C.F. candidate had won east of the Great Lakes. In the Dominion Cabinet shake-up on July 8, Angus MacDonald, Liberal Premier of Nova Scotia, was named Minister of Defense for the Navy.
At the regular session of the provincial legislature, which was opened on March 5 by Chief Justice Sir Joseph Chrisholm in the absence of Lieutenant Governor Robert Irwin, steps were taken to make Nova Scotia's mineral resources more readily available for the Dominion's war effort. Areas containing manganese, tungsten, molybdenum, antimony, and other strategic war materials were made subject to forfeiture should the need arise in connection with national defense.
Havoc was wrought in Nova Scotia by a tropical hurricane which struck the Maritime Provinces on Sept. 17. The wind rose as high as seventy-five miles an hour. Damage throughout the three provinces was estimated to be in excess of a million dollars. The Nova Scotia apple crop suffered to the extent of some $250,000. It is estimated that 50 per cent of the rich Annapolis Valley yield was destroyed. Fishing villages, summer resorts, and small craft in the harbors suffered heavy damage. Yarmouth on Nova Scotia's south shore felt the brunt of the wind, and there was considerable damage at Halifax.
The Earl of Athlone, Canada's new Governor General, and his wife, arrived secretly in Halifax on June 19 aboard a British cruiser. Because of the war he was greeted quietly, with a complete absence of the ceremony usual for such occasions.
No comments:
Post a Comment