Robert Stanfield, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician, 17th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1914)
Robert Lorne Stanfield (April 11, 1914 – December 16, 2003) was a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967 and the leader of the Official Opposition and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1967 to 1976.
Born into an affluent Nova Scotia clothing manufacturing and political family in Truro, Stanfield graduated from Dalhousie University and Harvard Law School in the 1930s. He was a lawyer before becoming the leader of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party in 1948, with the goal of reviving the party that did not have a single seat in the legislature. After a rebuilding period, Stanfield led the party to a majority government in 1956; their first victory since 1928. Carrying the party to four majorities in total, Stanfield's government is credited with modernizing the way the province delivered education and medical services.
In 1967, he resigned as premier and became the leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party. He was the leader of the Official Opposition and fought three federal elections in 1968, 1972, and 1974, losing each time to the Liberals under Pierre Trudeau. Stanfield was a strong supporter of bilingualism, putting him at odds with some members of the PC Party. Despite his stance on the issue, his inability to speak French harmed his chances of becoming prime minister. He resigned as leader in 1976 and from public office in 1979. In retirement, he lived mostly in Ottawa, and died there in 2003 from complications due to pneumonia. He is sometimes referred to as "the best prime minister Canada never had". As one of Canada's most distinguished and respected statesmen, he was one of only several people granted the style "The Right Honourable" who were not so entitled by virtue of an office held.