History
The provincial party was publicly launched on November 5, 2004, and officially registered in February 2006. It ran in its first election in a February 21, 2006 by-election in the Placentia and St. Mary's electoral district where the party's president Tom Hickey won 31 of 4,862 votes. After the provincial election, the party dissolved itself at the provincial level to focus on the federal platform which it felt was the most productive arena in which to advocate for fairness and equality for the province within Canada.
The federal party, also led by Hickey, became eligible for registration by Elections Canada on November 15, 2007. It gained registered status in September 2008 as it entered three candidates in the 2008 federal election, where it attained 1.75% of the votes in those three districts.
Hickey was the founder of the First Party, [4] which was established as a party in November 2004. [5] Hickey (who ran unsuccessfully for the party in a Placentia—St. Mary's by-election held in 2006, winning only 31 votes [6] ) led the party from 2004 until 2008, when he was succeeded as party leader by Wayne Bennett. [4] [5]
Deregistration
The Party Executive was given official notification by registered letter to the Chief Agent of the party that as of January 31, 2011, the party would cease to exist and would be deregistered by Elections Canada. This deregistration was for failure to comply with the required submission of a minimum of 250 signed Declarations of Membership Forms in the allotted time period given. [7] [8]
Wayne Bennett contested the riding of Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte in the 2011 federal election, as an Independent. He received 332 votes, 1.106% of the votes in the riding. [9] Bennett would also go on to unsuccessfully seek the leadership of both the provincial Progressive Conservative and New Democratic parties. [10] [11] [12] [13]
The 2003 Newfoundland and Labrador general election was held on October 21, 2003, to elect the 48 members of the 45th General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador. The election was called on September 29 by Premier Roger Grimes of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party is a social democratic political party in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in 1961 as the successor to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Newfoundland Democratic Party. The party first contested the 1962 provincial election. The party won its first seat in the House of Assembly in 1984 and has been represented in the legislature since 1990.
The Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a political party in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The party is the provincial branch, and affiliate of the federal Liberal Party of Canada. It has served as the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador since December 14, 2015. The NL Liberals were re-elected to a majority government in the 2021 provincial election.
The Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a provincial political party in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The party was founded in 1949 and most recently formed the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador from the 2003 general election until the 2015 general election. The party has served as the official opposition to the government of Newfoundland and Labrador since 14 December 2015. On October 14, 2023, MHA Tony Wakeham was elected leader.
Gerry Byrne, is a Canadian politician who was a Liberal Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2015 representing Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, Newfoundland and Labrador, and a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien. Since the 2015 provincial election, he has served as MHA for Corner Brook. Byrne served in provincial cabinet during the Ball government and is currently Minister of Immigration, Skills and Labour in the Furey government.
Placentia—St. Mary's is a provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As of 2011, there were 7,361 eligible voters living within the district.
The Isles of Notre Dame, formerly called Twillingate and Fogo, is a defunct provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As of 2011 the district had 6,990 eligible voters.
Fabian Manning is a politician in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Manning served as a Progressive Conservative and later as the independent Member of the House of Assembly for the district of Placentia and St. Mary’s from 1999 to 2005. From 2006 to 2008 he was the Conservative Party of Canada Member of Parliament for the riding of Avalon. After his defeat in the 2008 federal election Manning was appointed to the Senate of Canada on January 2, 2009, he resigned his Senate seat on March 28, 2011, to run for election in his former riding of Avalon in the 2011 federal election, but was unsuccessful. Prime Minister Stephen Harper re-appointed Manning to the Senate on May 25, 2011.
Lorraine Michael is a social-democratic Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. From May 2006 until March 2015, Michael was the leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party (NDP). She is a former nun, teacher, and social activist.
Trevor Taylor is a Canadian politician. He formerly represented the riding of The Straits - White Bay North in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. He was a member of the Progressive Conservatives.
The Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership convention of May 2011 was prompted by Gerry Reid's announcement that he would not lead the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador to another election, after losing his seat in the 2007 provincial election. The convention was held in May 2011. The winner and lone candidate, Yvonne Jones, lead the party until August 2011, but would not lead the party in to the 2011 provincial election.
The Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership election of 2013 was triggered by Kevin Aylward's announcement on October 26, 2011, that he would resign as leader following the party's result in the 2011 provincial election. It was announced on December 15, 2011, that Humber Valley MHA Dwight Ball would start serving as interim leader of the party on January 3, 2012. In May 2012, the party announced the leadership convention would take place between November 15–17, 2013. It was won by Dwight Ball, who had stepped down as interim leader in July 2013 to run.
The 2014 Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership election was prompted by Kathy Dunderdale's announcement on January 22, 2014, that she was resigning as premier and party leader. On January 24, 2014, Tom Marshall was sworn in as the 11th Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador and interim leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. Prior to the nomination deadline, three accredited candidates entered the race; Frank Coleman, Bill Barry, and Wayne Bennett. On April 3, Bennett was removed from the race while on April 17, Barry voluntarily withdrew his nomination, resulting in Frank Coleman becoming leader-designate.
Thomas Valentine Hickey was a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Cape St. Francis in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 1966 to 1986 as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership election, 2018 was held on April 27–29, 2018, to select a successor to Paul Davis who announced on October 11, 2016, that he planned to step down as leader once his replacement was elected. St. John's lawyer Ches Crosbie defeated former Health Authority CEO Tony Wakeham to become the new leader. 11,000 members joined the party during this leadership election, of which, just over 4,000 cast their ballots.
Chesley Furneaux "Ches" Crosbie, is a Canadian lawyer and former politician. Crosbie was elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador on April 28, 2018 serving until March 31, 2021. He served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 2018 until 2021.
The 2023 Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership election was held between October 13–15, 2023 to select a successor to Ches Crosbie, who stepped down following his defeat in the 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador general election. Candidate nominations opened May 17, 2023, and closed June 16, 2023. On October 14, 2023, MHA Tony Wakeham was narrowly elected leader on the second ballot.
The 2018 New Democratic Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership election was held in St. John's in April 2018 to nominate the successor of New Democratic Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leader Earle McCurdy, who resigned as head of the party effective September 30, 2017. Former leader Lorraine Michael was appointed interim leader before the convention. The deadline to register as a candidate was February 28, 2018. The deadline to become a party member to vote in the election was March 9, 2018. Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh delivered the keynote address. St. John's Centre MHA Gerry Rogers won the nomination on the first ballot. Rogers therefore became the first openly LGBT person to lead a political party in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador general election was held on March 25, 2021, to elect members of the 50th General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The 2020 Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership election was held due to the announcement by Dwight Ball on February 17, 2020 that he would be resigning as Liberal Party leader and Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador effective when the party elects his successor. Provincial legislation requires that a general election must occur no more than one year following a Premier's resignation.
