# Michael Savage (politician)

Michael John Savage (born May 13, 1960) is a Canadian politician who is the 34th and current lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia. He was the mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality from 2012 to 2024. He previously served as a Liberal member of Parliament for the riding of Dartmouth—Cole Harbour from 2004 to 2011.

## Early life and education

Savage was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and spent his early years in South Wales before moving to Canada at age six. Savage is the son of former Nova Scotia premier John Savage. He grew up in Dartmouth, graduating from Prince Andrew High School and Dalhousie University.

## Career
### Early career

Prior to being elected, Savage was active in the business community in Halifax. He has worked as a general manager for S. Cunard & Co., a director for Nova Scotia Power, as well as vice president at Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette and M5 Communications.
Savage has served as president of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia, and was a member of the board of directors of the IWK. He has been involved with community organizations such as the Red Cross, Literacy Nova Scotia, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and the Neptune Theatre Board.

### Political career

Savage began his career in politics when he ran in the riding of Dartmouth in the 1997 federal election. He finished second behind Wendy Lill of the New Democratic Party.
Savage was elected Member of Parliament for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour in June 2004, and was re-elected in 2006. He was the critic for Human Resources Development. He has served on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health and was chair of the Liberal Caucus Committee on Post-Secondary Education and Research during the 38th Parliament. He was also the vice-chair of the standing committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.
On December 4, 2006, it was reported that Savage was considering a run for the leadership of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. On December 19, Savage announced that he would not seek the leadership.
On May 2, 2011, Savage lost his federal seat to Robert Chisholm of the NDP.
On February 6, 2012, Savage announced that he would run for Mayor of Halifax Regional Municipality in that year's municipal elections. On October 20, 2012, Savage was elected Mayor of Halifax. He was re-elected in the 2016 election and 2020 election.
On February 13, 2024, Savage announced that he would not be running in the municipal elections later that year.

### Lieutenant governor

On October 13, 2024, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Savage would be the next lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, replacing Arthur LeBlanc. He was sworn in on December 13, 2024.

## Electoral history
### Municipal

2016 Halifax mayoral election :
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Mike Savage | 62,096 | 68.38 |
| Lil Macpherson | 28,719 | 31.62 |
| Total | 90,815 | 100.00 |
| Source: City of Halifax |||
2012 Halifax mayoral election :
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Mike Savage | 63,547 | 57.75 |
| Tom Martin | 21,912 | 19.91 |
| Fred Connors | 20,277 | 18.43 |
| Other candidates | 4304 | 3.91 |
| Total | 110,040 | 100.00 |
| Source: City of Halifax |||

### Federal

vte2011 Canadian federal election: Dartmouth—Cole Harbour :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Robert Chisholm | 15,678 | 36.27 | +4.73 | $51,111.67 |
| | Liberal | Michael Savage | 15,181 | 35.12 | -4.37 | $70,147.67 |
| | Conservative | Wanda Webber | 10,702 | 24.76 | +2.30 | $51,126.57 |
| | Green | Paul Shreenan | 1,662 | 3.85 | -2.11 | $0.00 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 43,223 | 99.41 | | $83,954.73 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 255 | 0.59 | -0.01 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,478 | 61.45 | +2.72 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 70,756 |
| | New Democratic gain from Liberal | New Democratic gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | +4.55 |
| Sources: |||||||
vte2008 Canadian federal election: Dartmouth—Cole Harbour :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Michael Savage | 16,016 | 39.49 | -2.83 | $63,901.48 |
| | New Democratic | Brad Pye | 12,793 | 31.55 | -0.95 | $56,900.80 |
| | Conservative | Wanda Webber | 9,109 | 22.46 | -0.36 | $64,746.58 |
| | Green | Paul Shreenan | 2,417 | 5.96 | +3.69 | $444.09 |
| | Christian Heritage | George Campbell | 219 | 0.54 | – | $351.78 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 40,554 | 100.0 | | $80,942 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 245 | 0.60 | +0.23 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,799 | 58.73 | -3.71 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 69,469 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | -0.94 |
vte2006 Canadian federal election: Dartmouth—Cole Harbour :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Michael Savage | 19,027 | 42.32 | +0.25 | $67,910.96 |
| | New Democratic | Peter Mancini | 14,612 | 32.50 | ±0 | $60,717.57 |
| | Conservative | Robert A. Campbell | 10,259 | 22.82 | +1.72 | $41,775.58 |
| | Green | Elizabeth Perry | 1,005 | 2.24 | -0.92 | $582.70 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Charles Spurr | 56 | 0.12 | -0.05 | none listed |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 44,959 | 100.0 | | $76,265 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 166 | 0.37 | -0.07 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,125 | 62.44 | +0.51 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 72,264 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | +0.12 |
vte2004 Canadian federal election: Dartmouth—Cole Harbour :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Michael Savage | 17,425 | 42.07 | +8.18 | $62,046.28 |
| | New Democratic | Susan MacAlpine-Gillis | 13,463 | 32.50 | -2.82 | $59,335.19 |
| | Conservative | Michael L. MacDonald | 8,739 | 21.10 | -9.34 | $54,707.19 |
| | Green | Michael Marshall | 1,311 | 3.16 | – | $200.00 |
| | Progressive Canadian | Tracy Parsons | 415 | 1.00 | – | $1,140.15 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Charles Spurr | 70 | 0.17 | – | none listed |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 41,423 | 100.0 | | $73,009 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 181 | 0.44 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,604 | 61.93 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 67,176 |
| | Liberal notional gain from New Democratic | Liberal notional gain from New Democratic | Swing | Swing | +5.50 |
| Changes from 2000 are based on redistributed results. Conservative Party change is based on the combination of Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party totals. |||||||
vte1997 Canadian federal election: Dartmouth—Cole Harbour :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Wendy Lill | 12,326 | 32.57 | +25.48 |
| | Liberal | Michael Savage | 10,298 | 27.21 | -23.60 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Rob McCleave | 10,183 | 26.91 | +3.33 |
| | Reform | John Cody | 4,446 | 11.75 | -3.87 |
| | Independent | Cliff Williams | 438 | 1.16 | -0.63 |
| | Natural Law | Claude Viau | 156 | 0.41 | -0.71 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 37,847 | 100.00 |
| Change for Independent candidate Cliff Williams is shown based on his results as a National Party candidate in 1993. |||||||