VZCZCXRO0104
PP RUEHGA RUEHMT RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHHA #0042/01 1771539
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
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 
 
 
¶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