Buchanan leaves Senate

Former premier John Buchanan officially retires from the Senate on Saturday when he turns 75.

Buchanan was premier of Nova Scotia from 1978 to 1990, when then-prime minister Brian Mulroney appointed him to the Senate.

"With mixed feelings I leave the Senate," he told CBC News, but added, "I've said goodbye to many public careers and this is just another one."

• SENATE: Buchanan bio

Buchanan was first elected to the Nova Scotia legislature in May 1967, when Robert Stanfield was premier of the province. He became a cabinet minister, then leader of the opposition, and eventually premier himself.

After spending 24 years in public office in Nova Scotia, Buchanan was looking for a change. So when the opportunity to become a senator came up, he jumped at the chance.

Buchanan, a one-time critic of the Senate, said he wanted to reform the Upper Chamber from within.

"I accepted the challenge, and I think it worked," he said. "The committee work has been phenomenal and I've been involved in just about every one of them."

Buchanan didn't have to win a seat when he became a senator 16 years ago, but he believes it is time for an elected Senate.

"I know that within the Senate itself there are many senators who agree with those comments. It's not an easy thing to do, by the way, because it requires a constitutional change and that could be very difficult," he said.

Buchanan said that after weathering the constitutional storms of Meech Lake and the Charlottetown accords, he knows personally how difficult it can be to change the Constitution.

Now that he's reached the mandatory retirement age of 75, Buchanan is deciding what to do next.

"In my political life I've always kept busy 12, 14 hours a day, and that's not going to stop," he said.

But Buchanan laughed off rumours that he's on the list of candidates to replace Myra Freeman as Nova Scotia's next lieutenant-governor.

"I don't think so," he said. "I could never fill her shoes."