News

A great champion of this region and a friend to so many, we extend our deepest condolences to the family, loved ones and former colleagues of The Honourable Stewart McInnes (LLB ’61), who died of heart failure on Oct. 4 in Halifax at the age of 78.

“Stewart McInnes left his mark, not only as a loyal friend of this law school and university, but also as a lawyer and member of our Halifax and Nova Scotia communities,” says Schulich School of Law Dean Camille Cameron.

Legacy in law and politics

McInnes practiced at McInnes Cooper in Halifax for more than 38 years. He was the president of the Nova Scotia branch of the Canadian Bar Association, a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society Bar Council, and a director of the Law Foundation of Nova Scotia. He also served as a Member of Parliament for Halifax and as a Member of the Federal Cabinet from 1984 to 1988.

McInnes was devoted to Dalhousie University, from which he received an Honorary Law Degree and recently the A.J. “Sandy” Young Award for Great Contribution to Sport in Nova Scotia. He was a member of the Bertha Wilson Honour Society and the Dalhousie Sports Hall of Fame, as well as a Dalhousie Alumnus of the Year. While he was a Dalhousie student, he was captain of the football team and a member of the hockey team.

Generous philanthropist

In addition to his legal and political careers, McInnes’s work in his community was extraordinary and a true testament of his alma mater’s Weldon Tradition of public service.

McInnes raised funds for the Brunswick Street Mission and the ALTA Gymnastics Club. He made a difference by leading the way on many philanthropic initiatives, including his role as chair of the Halifax United Way, the Dalplex Campaign (and many other Dalhousie initiatives), and the Canadian Mental Health Campaign Nova Scotia.

He held terms as president of the School for the Blind, the Hearing and Speech Clinic, the Halifax Club, and the North British Society, and he sat on the board of governors and board of directors at Dalhousie University, Grace Maternity Hospital, Halifax Foundation, Canada Summer Games, CNIB, and World Wildlife Fund Canada.

Despite his long list of professional achievements, gardening was McInnes’s passion; his green thumbs tended more than 16,000 tulips in his own garden. He leaves his wife, Shirley; his daughters, Janet, Sarah, and Constance; his sons, Donald and Ted; and five grandchildren.