Halifax mayor draws record crowd for final 'State of the Municipality' address

Halifax mayor Mike Savage is signing off from politics after 12 years on the job and he says it was “the best job in the world.”

Savage has already indicated he won't seek re-election this fall and on Thursday he delivered his final 'State of the Municipality' address to more than 800 people at the Halifax Convention Centre.

The Halifax Chamber of Commerce hosted the luncheon event, which drew the largest crowd they've seen for the annual mayoral address.

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"He's done a great job as mayor and I think people wanted to hear about what he's done," said Halifax Chamber president and CEO Patrick Sullivan.

Mayor Savage had a different opinion for the record crowd, joking, "I think it just means that people are happy to see me go.”

Savage was moved by the crowd and was emotional at times during his speech, which reflected on his career in municipal politics.

"It was very heartwarming," said Savage. "When I walked into the room I couldn't believe it. It was a lot of people."

During his speech Savage talked about some of the triumphs and challenges he and council faced over the past three terms, saying there's no manual on how to do the job.

Early on in his first term, Savage said the goal was to attract more people to Halifax and grow the population, which was declining at the time. Since then he's seen the population surge in his final years of office and the average age lower.

"In recent years Halifax has accounted for about four-fifths of the provincial population growth (of Nova Scotia)," said Savage. "If that holds we should expect that Halifax has gained somewhere around 27,000 people last year, pushing our population to around 510,000."

Savage expressed his gratitude for those he worked with and became emotional when speaking about his family and staff who have been at his side.

"I never won an argument in 12 years," he joked. "But the respect they hold for the office of mayor, the residents they serve, and me personally, lead by Shaune (MacKinlay) but with so many others, it's almost beyond my ability to understand."

The crowd gave the mayor several standing ovations.

Savage spoke of the challenges, like the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis, which he calls the most important issue for government to handle today, and asked all levels of government to work better together to find solutions.

He spoke of climate change and the challenges it's putting on the municipality and the work needed to be done to meet clean energy targets.

Sullivan acknowledged Savage as a gifted leader, a brilliant communicator and arguably the biggest promoter of the city of Halifax he has ever seen in the mayor’s office.

"He was empathetic, he was inclusive, he was enthusiastic, he was positive, he was a real booster for the city inside and outside the city," said Sullivan.

Former Liberal Premier of Nova Scotia Stephen McNeil said Savage is a unifier and passionate politician.

"Mike's a collaborator, he brings people together, of diverse opinions and diverse backgrounds, to find a position and bring it to council and move it forward," said McNeil. "He was such a unifier in many ways, at a time, quite frankly not only here, but around the world, where division seems to be the flavour of the day, Mike was always able to unify people."

The job was busy and always challenging said Savage, "and occasionally frustrating and maddening...but it's the best job in the world."

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