Politics on Edge The Remarkable Career of Paul MacEwan

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Paul MacEwan (1943-2017) was a singular politician, an outlier who successfully pushed the limits of Nova Scotia’s political norms over the longest continuous service record in the history of the legislature. Yet he never achieved the sort of prominence such a record might command — though serving as Speaker (1993-1996), he was never made a cabinet minister.

MacEwan’s brand of constituent-centred politics saw him victorious in nine consecutive general elections over thirty-three years, a record unlikely to fall anytime soon. At the same time, he didn’t fit into the club-like atmosphere of the legislature. Obsessive, at times bombastic, few politicians have been as polarizing as MacEwan. He made few friends and rarely socialized with other legislators; instead he was always “on-call” for his constituents.

His electoral victories came under four different partisan labels — first as a New Democrat (1970, 1974, 1978), twice as an independent (1981, 1988) once as leader of his own short-lived Cape Breton Labour Party (1984), and finally as a Liberal (1993, 1998, 1999) — before retiring from politics in 2003. For a Canadian politician to change their electoral colours successfully even once is rare—MacEwan ran under four, a peripatetic record unparalleled in modern Canadian politics.

Author Ian Stewart recounts Paul MacEwan’s life, his austere home environment, his social convictions and electoral prowess, unorthodox style and, particularly, his singular dedication to constituents.

From his longevity to his checkered partisanship to his obsessive personality, Paul MacEwan cut a remarkably distinctive profile. In all ways, MacEwan personified politics on the edge.

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