Dan McDougall returns as interim CAO while Region of Queens looks for full-time replacement

The Region of Queens has appointed Dan McDougall as interim CAO. (Rick Conrad)

The Region of Queens has hired an interim chief administrative officer while it looks for a permanent replacement for Cody Joudry.

Dan McDougall will take over CAO duties from acting CAO Pam Lovelace, who will return to her job as municipal clerk. Lovelace, a one-term Halifax councillor and unsuccessful mayoral candidate, was hired in December.

McDougall has done the top job before at Queens. He was the interim CAO in 2023 after Chris McNeill resigned.

McDougall will fill in as CAO until the region finds a replacement for Cody Joudry, whom the newly elected council fired on Dec. 16, saying he wasn’t the right “fit”.

McDougall is a former CAO of the Municipality of Chester and for the Municipality of Colchester County. He has also worked for the province, as CEO of Housing Nova Scotia, and deputy minister of the Department of Municipal Affairs.

“Dan is a very accomplished executive manager with a proven track record supporting municipalities,” Mayor Scott Christian said in a news release.

“Council felt that it was very important to install an interim CAO who comes with a wealth of experience as a CAO, a strong reputation in the local government sector, and who does not want the permanent job, assuring that they can objectively support the organization through a robust recruitment process to identify the best candidate for the role.”

Council had hired Joudry in September 2023. The region had been without a full-time CAO since that May, when McNeill resigned.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com