Nova Scotia emergency medicine pioneer and politician Dr. Ron Stewart dies at 82

Dr. Ron Stewart, the visionary leader behind the modernization of Nova Scotia's emergency health system, has passed away from cancer at the age of 82.

Stewart, the son of a Cape Breton coal miner, dedicated more than 50 years to healthcare in Canada and the U.S. He served as Nova Scotia’s health minister and was a teacher, researcher, and mentor at Dalhousie University’s medical school.

"Ron is widely regarded as the grandfather of paramedicine in the world," said Dr. Kirk Magee, a friend and colleague. "When you look at his resume, the accomplishments are incredible, but when you met him, he was one of the kindest, most humble people you could encounter."

In 2017, Stewart donated $1.3 million of his retirement savings to the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation to establish a research symposium and chair in emergency medicine. His goal was to foster research that would help train future physicians and paramedics.

For his significant contributions to public health and emergency medicine, Stewart was named a Companion of the Order of Canada — the highest rank within the order, achieved by only six Nova Scotians.

Early in his career, Stewart relocated to California to pursue emergency medicine training, which was unavailable in Canada at the time. He became the first paramedic director of Los Angeles County and was instrumental in developing the paramedic system, replacing ambulance drivers with trained responders capable of delivering pre-hospital care.

In Los Angeles, Stewart divided his time between hospital shifts and consulting for NBC's *Emergency!* — a 1970s television show that dramatized paramedic work. His role as an advisor earned him the nickname "Doc Hollywood."

After his work in California, Stewart helped establish the Centre for Emergency Medicine in Pittsburgh, a pioneering paramedic training program.

In the 1990s, as health minister in John Savage’s cabinet, Stewart sought to overhaul Nova Scotia’s healthcare system. One of his major achievements was transforming an ambulance service, previously run by funeral homes, into a state-of-the-art paramedic system capable of providing rapid emergency care.

"There were no unified standards," Magee explained. "When someone called 911, there was no certainty about what kind of response they would get."

However, Stewart's attempt to consolidate hospital services across the province proved politically controversial, triggering intense backlash that forced him out of both the cabinet and politics.

"I wasn’t a very good politician," Stewart admitted during a conversation with Magee earlier this year. "I spoke my mind too much. I just wanted to get things done quickly because I knew my time in office would be short."

Former journalist Jim Meek described Stewart’s political tenure as "tempestuous and chaotic," but noted that his influence extended beyond Nova Scotia. Meek, who co-authored Stewart’s memoir *Treat Them Where They Lie*, said Stewart successfully pushed the federal government to ban tobacco company sponsorship of major events.

David Dingwall, Canada’s health minister at the time, credited Stewart as "the driving force among the provincial ministers" behind the legislation.

After leaving politics, Stewart became a strong advocate for banning landmines. According to Meek, Stewart played a key role in drafting a resolution presented at the Ottawa conference on landmines, which contributed to the 1997 signing of the Ottawa Convention. The treaty, signed by 133 countries, banned the use, production, and transfer of antipersonnel mines.

In 2006, Stewart was named to the Order of Nova Scotia, further recognizing his achievements at both the national and international levels. Among his many honors, Stewart was named a "hero" of emergency medicine by the American College of Emergency Medicine, had a chair named after him at the University of Pittsburgh, and received the James O. Page Award for lifetime achievement from the International Association of Fire Chiefs.