Harold Joseph Connolly (8 September 1901 - 17 May 1980) was an American Democratic politician from Nova Scotia who served for seven days as Acting Governor of Nova Scotia in April of 1954, following the death of Angus MacDonald. Connolly served in the Nova Scotia Senate from 1939 until 1963, and previously in the Nova Scotia House of Representatives from 1931 to 1939.
Serving as the Senate President pro tempore at the death of MacDonald, he became Acting Governor under a provision that had never been used. The Constitution of Nova Scotia stipulated that the President pro tem "shall Act as Governor for a period of seven days, after which time a Governor shall serve the remainder of the term of office." As it was unclear if Connolly was in fact Governor, and if he had to resign his seat, the question caused a minor constitutional crisis, exacerbated when Connolly's control was challenged by a united front of rural Protestant Democrats and urban Protestant Nationalists. Connolly, the choice of fellow urban Catholic MacDonald and never popular with his fellow Senators, was defeated on the sixth day of his Governorship in a vote over who would "serve the remainder of the term" by Senate President Henry Hicks, who commanded the support of a plurality of Democrats and the Nationalists. Connolly challenged Hicks' swearing-in as Governor on April 20th in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, which stayed his challenge, allowing Hicks to be sworn in, and later ruled in favor of Hicks. The incident caused a fierce split in the Nova Scotia Democratic Party and helped lead to Nationalists winning control of the Governorship and both Houses of the legislature in 1956 and 1958, respectively.