Patron: His Honour, The Honourable Mike Savage, ONS Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia 

Michael John Savage was installed as the 34th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia on December 13, 2024, commencing his role as His Majesty King Charles III’s representative in the Province.

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, His Honour spent his early childhood in South Wales before immigrating to Canada at the age of six. Raised in Dartmouth, he graduated from Prince Andrew High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Dalhousie University.

His Honour’s career reflects a lifelong commitment to public service, economic development, community engagement, and volunteerism. As a member of the business community, he devoted significant time to provincial and national organizations, serving as President of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia and a member of the board of directors for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. His contributions extended to organizations supporting health, literacy, humanitarian aid, and the arts, including the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, the Dartmouth Book and Writing Awards, Literacy Nova Scotia, the Red Cross, United Way, and Neptune Theatre.

From 2004 to 2011, His Honour represented Dartmouth-Cole Harbour as a Member of Parliament, where he championed economic development and inclusion, advancing disability rights and same sex-marriage. He was an active member of parliamentary committees, groups, and associations, including service as the Chief Opposition Critic and Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.

Elected as Mayor of Halifax Regional Municipality in 2012, His Honour served three consecutive terms, prioritizing economic growth, social and economic inclusion, and sustainable climate action. As a member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Big City Mayors’ Caucus, he served as co-chair FCM’s Syrian Refugee Response Task Force in 2015. That same year, he became President of the World Energy Cities Partnership, an international organization connecting cities with significant energy sector interests. In 2021, he was elected by his colleagues as Chair of the Big City Mayors’ Caucus.

For more information on the office and activities of the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia please click here.

 

Vice-Patron: Brigadier-General S.M. Parsons, CD; Commander 5th Canadian Division

Raised in Newfoundland and Labrador, BGen Mark Parsons joined the Canadian Armed Forces on the 25th of June, 1990 as a member of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals within the Canadian Army. He has commanded from Troop to Formation level, including 21 Electronic Warfare Regiment and the Canadian Forces Information Operations Group.

His key staff experiences include Senior Staff Officer Strategic Vision and Alignment for Defence C4ISR within Director General Cyber, Director Land Command Information and Army G6 within the Canadian Army headquarters, and Director of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals.

BGen Parsons is a graduate of the Royal Military College, St-Jean (CMR) with a bachelor’s degree in Space Sciences and has attained three Master’s degrees which include an MBA and an MDS from the Royal Military College, Kingston (RMC) and an MSc from the College of Information and Cyberspace, National Defense University in Washington, DC.

BGen Parsons has deployments with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2007 and with the Office of the United States Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority (USSC) in 2022 as Deputy Coordinator Support and Commander, Task Force Jerusalem (Operation PROTEUS).

BGen Parsons assumed the role of Director General Digital Enterprise Modernization within the Digital Transformation Office (DTO) in July 2023. He is married with two children.

For more on the activities of the 5th Canadian Division, please click here.