By Andrew Macdonald
For some cultural and political levity, during my chat for an hour with Stephen McNeil, I had to ask if he plans to grow a beard in his new private-sector job.
When he first got elected as MLA in 2003 for Annapolis Royal, McNeil had facial hair – and when he narrowly won the 2007 NS Liberal leadership race, he also still sported a beard.
But, on advice in 2007 from political pollster Don Mills, McNeil shaved off the beard – and voila won the premier’s post in 2013.
Today, his successor, Iain Rankin, becomes the first NS premier since the 1880s to wear a beard.
So I had to ask McNeil, for some light cultural and political levity, if he plans to grow a beard in his new role as strategic business advisor at law firm, Cox & Palmer.
Question:, The nation needs to know, will you grow back your beard in the private sector?
McNeil replies to The Notebook: “No, highly unlikely. I may (then chuckles). But, unlikely. I get a few days where I don’t shave, and I am usually quick to get it off, clean it off in a few days”.
Meanwhile, Rankin as the 29th Premier of Nova Scotia makes a bold fashion statement.
His beard makes modern-day political history.
Rankin becomes the first premier of the province during this century, and even the century before that to take on the premier’s post, sporting a beard.
In the 21 years of the current century, no man who has occupied the office did so wearing a beard.
In fact, as we note elsewhere in this edition, the last premier to have facial hair was A.S. MacMillan, who between 1940-1945, wore a moustache.
And, the last NS premier with a beard served until 1896: William Fielding – that was 125-years ago.
Back in 2003, the year Stephen McNeil was first elected as a Valley Liberal MLA, he sported a beard. he shaved it off in 2007, when he became Liberal leader. This picture is contained in his 2020 Holiday card.
When Stephen McNeil was first elected in the 2003 election as MLA for Annapolis Valley, he went to the legislature with a full beard.
And, when he won the 2007 leadership convention of the NS Liberal party, narrowing defeating his leadership opponent, Diana Whalen, on the second ballot, he still had his beard.
I embed his 2020 Christmas card, which shows him without facial hair – and the Holiday card in 2003, where he is sporting a beard.
As, I recently reported McNeil was given blunt advice on the need to shave off the beard in 2007 if he wanted to become premier.
Back in December, I reported that advice came from then leading pollster, Don Mills.
Mills recently confirmed my December 2020 reporting that he told McNeil he would have to shave the beard if he wanted to ever become NS premier.
Don Mills founded pollster Corporate Research & Associates in 1978. Mills sold the company in 2018 to his top three executives. The Notebook FILE photo.
McNeil did shave the beard off in 2007 – joking with journalists that his then young son did not recognize the fresh-faced look of his dad. There are few other Google searches related to the beard coming off in modern times.
But McNeil did eventually assume power in 2013, and made history as the first back-to-back majority government, returning to power in 2017 – something not seen since the times John Buchanan won consecutive elections from 1978-1988 – four terms as Tory premier.
In 2020, Mills grew a goatee, then shaved it off, and now says: “But, I have decided I am going to grow it back – it will be an on/off thing for me”.
Mills says he now sees middle-aged and older folk now wearing beards in modern times, and things were different, even just eight years ago, when he gave his advice to McNeil.
“It’s become a little more trendy” in today’s time frame, adds Mills, a Halifax-Chester Basin resident.
Iain Rankin sports a beard and a Scottish tartan tie, and his spouse Mary Chisholm has a tartan scarf. (Iain Rankin photo).
“I think the (times) may be different”, adds the retired pollster.
“I think the thing about Iain (Rankin’s) beard, to be honest with you, you can hardly notice it, to be fair”, adding the premier has a tightly trimmed beard.
“And, it is not dark. This is the thing. A dark beard is a bit verboten for some people – but not everybody”, explains Mills.
“In the past, it has been shown people with beards are less trustworthy – I do not know why that is, but at least that is the research”, says Mills, relying on his 40-year career as a pollster of public sentiment.
Rankin did get elected as Liberal leader, with a beard, although Mills points out, “that was a restricted group of people (Liberal card-carrying folk). He became premier with 2800 votes to be clear”.
He adds, “That is not exactly a good representation of the people – he wasn’t elected by the people (of NS), now was he?”
The big question remains if Rankin will head into an election with a beard, or shave it off as McNeil did in 2007.
But says Mills: “I think things might be different than even eight years ago, because of the fact his beard is less obvious, it’s a light beard and it is tighter”.
Iain Rankin’s first address as premier of NS. (NS Gov photo).
“It may not be as big a factor as it was with McNeil, because McNeil was a big guy (tall) and had a big black beard, and it was a bit threatening”, chuckles Mills.
“I guess my conclusion is, because of the kind of beard (Rankin) has, because there has been a move to facial hair in the population generally, and it is more common today than eight years ago, it may not be as big a factor today – than back then”, the long-running pollster, who retired in 2018, adds.
“You know my story about McNeil in 2007? I remember presenting to his caucus and he had a big black beard, thick. I did a presentation of what condition the province was in economically, socially and politically. We were just joking around…the conversation turned to McNeil’s beard and I said: ‘At that time, at least, it would be hard for you to be elected with a beard (as premier) because research has shown – and up to that point, it was true, that people has less trust with people who have beards'”. recalls mills.
In that era, “that was shown by research”, Mills, who has studied public affairs since 1978, when he founded his polling entity.
He suggests former NDP leader Thomas Mulclair had a beard, adding it was “a factor” in his defeat in 2015.
“Eight years ago has to be taken into consideration, it was a different time. I will say this, today, facial hair is more prominent among all age groups than it was eight years ago”.
I should note, that during the pandemic Prime Minister Justin Trudeau began sporting a beard, too.
As for Iain Rankin, who is 37, he is a millennial, and if you have noticed in advertising locally or even internationally, or around town, this age group, running from 22 to 37, more often than not carry beards.
I occasionally feature Meet A Millennial Entrepreneur folk, and many of them have beards.
There is a barbershop downtown in Halifax, with three millennial barbers – and, yes, all three of them have beards.
To get a glimpse into why bears among the twenty and thirty-somethings are so popular, I recently asked millennial realtor Victoria Hines, that question – I featured her realtor story last weekend
My question to Hines: Why do male millennials all seem to wear beards?
“I don’t know if it is just another expression of taking care of yourself, you have something else to take care of. But, I agree with you, I have noticed that too, it’s a trend, it is trendy to have a big beard. I have a lot of guy friends that are obsessed with their facial hair”, Hines informs The Notebook.
Prior to Iain Rankin being sworn in as premier of Nova Scotia and making history by sporting a beard, the last premier of Nova Scotia to have a beard was when William Fielding held the post.
Fielding served as Liberal premier from 1884 – 1896. If my memory serves me right, former NDP leader Robert Chisholm and spouse Paula once lived in Fielding’s home on Jubilee Road.
Fielding was the 7th premier of NS.
He was also MLA for Halifax County, between 1882-1896.
Born on November 24, 1848, he died June 23, 1929 (aged 80).
Prior to politics, he was a journalist.
His Wiki page:
He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Fielding became leader of the Anti-Confederation Party (Nova Scotia Liberal Party). In 1884, he became Premier and won the 1886 election on a pledge to remove Nova Scotia from confederation. When he failed to do this, he turned to economic matters including developing the coal industry.
William Fielding was NS premier in 1896 – until Iain Rankin became a beard-wearing premier, Fielding had a beard in office 125-years ago. (NS GOV photo).
The Liberal Party of Nova Scotia fared poorly in national elections during the 1880s and early 1890s. The national party advocated policies that would discontinue the national coal subsidy and, for all practical purposes, eliminate Catholic schools in Manitoba, policies disliked by provincial coal miners and Catholics respectively. Fielding forged a more moderate coal policy and defused the school issue, winning back Catholics. Thus in 1896 the provincial Liberals improved their showing in the national election.[
Federal politics
In 1896, he left provincial politics to become Minister of Finance in the Liberal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier. In 1910, he negotiated a reciprocity or free trade agreement with the United States which led to the government’s defeat in the 1911 general election. Fielding lost his seat, and became editor of the Daily Telegraph of Montreal.
First World War
Fielding supported the Unionist government of Sir Robert Borden during the Conscription Crisis of 1917 and returned to the House of Commons as a Liberal-Unionist member.
Liberal leadership convention, 1919
Fielding had widely been seen as Laurier’s successor but his split with the party over the conscription issue cost him the 1919 Liberal leadership convention where he lost to William Lyon Mackenzie King by 38 votes.
Service in Mackenzie King’s first Administration
He served again as Minister of Finance in King’s first government formed after the 1921 election.
Later life
He retired from politics in 1925.
In 1923, Fielding was sworn into the Privy Council of the United Kingdom allowing him to be styled as Right Honourable, a rare privilege among Canadians who have not served as Prime Minister, Governor-General, or Chief Justice of Canada.
He died in Ottawa.
