-by Ben MacKay
In the history of Inverness county, Alexander Hugh McKinnon stands out as one of our region’s most remarkable public figures. He started out as a lawyer, moved into politics, and eventually became Chief Justice of Nova Scotia’s Supreme Court. Born on December 24th, 1904, the same year Inverness was incorporated as a town, McKinnon’s parents, Hugh Patrick and Margaret, raised him in a place shaped by coal and the families who depended on it. Alex went to Holy Family School, before leaving Cape Breton to begin his studies at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish. After completing his Bachelor of Arts in 1926, he went to Dalhousie for law school, where he finished his LL.B. in 1929.
Once he wrapped up his education, McKinnon came home to Inverness and started his own law practice. In 1934, he married Ann Marguerite “Annie” Ryan, and together they had one daughter, Barbara. From the start of his career, McKinnon built a reputation as a champion of working people. Between 1930 and 1940, he served as legal counsel for the United Mine Workers, representing coal miners all across the region. The miners themselves chipped in ten cents a week from their paychecks to cover his services. Through this work, McKinnon got an up-close look at the dangers miners faced every day. For many he represented, he was their defender and friend.
In 1940, McKinnon took the leap into provincial politics. He won a by-election to become Inverness County’s Liberal MLA and stayed in the legislature until 1953. He held several major cabinet roles, such as Minister of Public Health and Welfare, Minister of Labour, and Minister of Mines. Those jobs fit him perfectly, given his background fighting for workers and his deep ties to the mining industry.
In 1953, he stepped away from politics to start a new chapter on the bench. The next year, he became a judge for District 6, covering Inverness, Antigonish, and Guysborough counties. He settled in Antigonish on Hawthorne Street but kept serving the region through his work in the courts. McKinnon’s reputation as a sharp, fair judge kept growing. There was a point when McKinnon almost jumped back into politics. In 1965, during a leadership race for the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, lots of people urged him to run. He agreed at first, but when his friend Colin Chisholm asked for his support, McKinnon stepped aside and backed him instead. When Chisholm got sick and couldn’t make it to the convention, the leadership went to Gerald Regan, a young politician who was barely known at the time. Looking back, some say McKinnon could have been one of Nova Scotia’s great premiers. Instead, McKinnon opted to remain on the bench and in 1966, he was appointed to the Appeal Division of Nova Scotia’s Supreme Court. Two years later, in August 1968, he became Chief Justice of Nova Scotia.
In his later years, McKinnon lived in Halifax, still working as a judge and earning respect across the province. In 1969, Acadia University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws for everything he’d done for public life and the law. He passed away in Halifax on June 16th, 1973, at the age of 69. For those of us from Inverness, his story is proof that someone from a tight-knit mining town can leave a mark on the whole province, without ever forgetting where they started.