Former N.S. Premier John Hamm dies at 88

Former N.S. premier John Hamm dies at 88

The Pictou County physician served as Nova Scotia's premier from 1999 to 2006

Former Nova Scotia premier John Hamm, the Pictou County physician who prescribed belt-tightening for the province's books, has died at age 88.

Straight-laced and soft spoken, he was first elected in 1993 and served as Nova Scotia's 25th premier from 1999 to 2006. He first lead a majority government before being held to a minority four years later.

But away from ballot boxes and budget debates, his personality was perhaps best captured by a single photo op: Smiling politicians posing at Halifax's Midtown Tavern back in 1996, glasses raised in a toast.

But unlike the rest, John Hamm's beverage of choice was not beer.

"And lo and behold, what does John Hamm have to drink to connect with the good people and the blue-collar workers of Nova Scotia? A good solid glass of milk," former Quebec Premier Jean Charest recalled during a video tribute to him in 2006.

And as Nova Scotians would learn over his 13 years in politics, the milk was on brand—as was the sweater vest he almost always wore under his blazer.

Leaning on his traditional values, Hamm opposed Sunday shopping, believing the day belonged to families. While he initiated a 2004 plebiscite that the "No" side narrowly won, a court decision overturned the ban two years later, opening retail doors seven days a week.

He also ordered the removal of about a thousand video lottery terminals from bars and taverns, in an effort aimed at curbing gambling addiction. He resisted a total ban, arguing that would drive the industry underground where it could not be regulated.

As well, Hamm ended the province's use of public-private partnership (P3) school construction, arguing the model of buy-now, pay-later would burden future generations and returned the province to the traditional model of publicly owned infrastructure.

Elections: Nova Scotians choose Hamm

In 1999, he ran on a campaign promise to open more hospital beds and end the heavy subsidies at Sydney Steel. Once in office, he moved to get the government out of the steel business. After a final attempt at a private sale failed, the plant was shuttered for good, ending nearly a century of steel-making in Cape Breton.

While health care was a major plank in his campaign, his government faced tense clashes with the sector.

In 2000, paramedics in a contract dispute parked their ambulances—lights flashing and sirens blaring—at the gates of Province House before walking off the job in an 18-hour strike.

A year later, the Hamm government tried to take away the right to strike for approximately 9,000 nurses and health care workers with Bill 68. The legislation sparked mass protests at the legislature and threats of widespread resignations, eventually forcing a stand-off that saw the province revoke the bill’s most contentious powers.

However, one of his biggest accomplishments came after a high-stakes battle with Ottawa over offshore oil and gas revenues

The 2005 Atlantic Accord allowed Nova Scotia to keep 100 per cent of offshore resource revenues without a government clawback in transfer payments.

During negotiations, Hamm’s quiet, methodical style stood in sharp contrast to that of his provincial counterpart, Danny Williams, who removed Canadian flags from provincial buildings in Newfoundland and Labrador in protest.

True to his mantra of fiscal restraint, Hamm pledged every penny of the accord's $830 million windfall would be used to pay down the province's debt of $12 billion at the time.

It was a key part of his push to have Nova Scotia live within its means and return to balanced budgets after years of big spending.

He was a true fiscal Conservative who never veered from his prescription for his vision of a healthier province.

After politics, Hamm was named an Officer to the Order of Canada in 2009, described as "a model of public service and leadership."

After spending more than a decade as a reporter covering the Nova Scotia Legislature, Amy Smith joined CBC News in 2009 as host for CBC Nova Scotia News. She can be reached at amy.smith@cbc.ca