Buildings Renamed to Honour Two Distinguished Nova Scotians
Provincial government buildings housing staff of the Department of Agriculture in Bible Hill now bear the names of two Nova Scotians who worked diligently to help develop Nova Scotia’s agriculture sector.
Agriculture Minister Keith Colwell today, March 9, dedicated the Annapolis Building to former premier Roger Bacon and the Northumberland Building to the late Edward Lorraine, a former agriculture minister.
“Agriculture is a backbone of our province’s economy and these two men made lasting contributions to its growth as both farmers and dedicated public servants,” said Mr. Colwell. “Their commitment to working for the best interests of the agriculture sector is part of their tremendous contribution to our province.”
Mr. Bacon is a dairy and blueberry farmer who was first elected to the provincial legislature in 1970. He helped to pioneer blueberry production in the province and became Nova Scotia’s 21st premier in 1990. He also served in the ministerial roles of tourism, agriculture and housing and as deputy premier. He received an honourary doctorate from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in 2005 in recognition of his help in developing programs at the institution.
“It is a great honour to be recognized in this way,” said Mr. Bacon. “Ed Lorraine and I were farmers at the same time and served in both municipal and provincial government at the same time and I am proud to have our contributions to agriculture commemorated at the same time.”
Mr. Lorraine was elected as an MLA in 1981 after a career as a farmer and served as Nova Scotia’s agriculture minister from 1997-1999. His half century of service to farmers and the province was honoured in 2004 when he was named to the Atlantic Agriculture Hall of Fame.
“What an honor it is to have a building at the Department of Agriculture named after our father who dedicated his entire life to the agricultural industry in this province,” said Mr. Lorraine’s daughter, Lisa Patton.
Renovation of the Lorraine Building was completed in 2016 and allows department staff to be housed together, providing one-stop shopping for clients.
Information about programs and services offered by the department is available at novascotia.ca/agri/.