Gerry Byrne (politician)

Gerald Byrne Sr.[1] PC MHA (born September 27, 1966) 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. He is currently the MHA for Corner Brook. He served as Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, and currently serves as Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources in the Ball government.

The Honourable Gerry Byrne BSc PC MHA
Gerry Byrne in 2018
Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources
Incumbent
Assumed office July 31, 2017
Preceded by	Steve Crocker
Minister of Advanced Education and Skills
In office December 14, 2015 – July 31, 2017
Premier	Dwight Ball
Preceded by	Clyde Jackman
Succeeded by	Steve Crocker
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for Corner Brook
Incumbent
Assumed office November 30, 2015
Preceded by	Riding Established
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte
In office January 25, 1996 – October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Brian Tobin
Succeeded by	Gudie Hutchings (Long Range Mountains)
Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
In office January 15, 2002 – December 11, 2003 Serving with Allan Rock
Preceded by	Robert Thibault
Succeeded by	Joe McGuire
Personal details
Born	(1966-09-27) September 27, 1966 Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador
Political party	Liberal Party of Canada
Spouse(s)	Denise Gibbons
Children	1
Residence	Corner Brook, Newfoundland & Labrador
Alma mater	Dalhousie University
Profession	Political Assistant
Cabinet	Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (2002–2003)

Education

Byrne received a Bachelor of Science in environmental science from Dalhousie University.

Federal politics

Byrne has been a Member of Parliament since 1996 when he won a by-election in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador to succeed Brian Tobin. Tobin resigned to run in the 1996 Newfoundland provincial election for Premier. He was re-elected in the 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2011 elections. In the 2006 election he had one of the highest margins of victory in Atlantic Canada. Byrne did not stand in the 2015 election and retired from parliament.

In the Liberal Party's 2006 leadership election, Byrne started out supporting Maurizio Bevilacqua, after Bevilacque drop out he supported Michael Ignatieff.[2] Ignatieff placed second in the race to winner Stéphane Dion. Ignatieff became Leader of the Liberal Party two years later, and was again supported by Byrne.[3]

In the Liberal Party's 2013 leadership election, Byrne supported Montreal MP Justin Trudeau.[4]

Cabinet minister

He was Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency from 2002 to 2003. When Paul Martin became Prime Minister in 2003, Byrne was not assigned back to his former Cabinet post and was succeeded by Joe McGuire.

Comments on PETA pie incident

On January 25, 2010, Fisheries Minister, Gail Shea was pied while giving a speech at the Canada Centre for Inland Waters. An American PETA activist, Emily McCoy, was later arrested in Burlington, charged with assault in connection with the incident. PETA has taken public responsibility for the incident, saying that it was part of a broader campaign against the Canadian Government's support of the seal hunt.[5]

In response to the pieing of the Fisheries Minister, Byrne denounced the attack on the minister as an act of terrorism.[6] He commented on the 26th, "When someone actually coaches or conducts criminal behaviour to impose a political agenda on each and every other citizen of Canada, that does seem to me to meet the test of a terrorist organization." Byrne continued to say, "I am calling on the Government of Canada to actually investigate whether or not this organization, PETA, is acting as a terrorist organization under the test that exists under Canadian law." In response to his interpretation of Canadian law, PETA president Ingrid Newkirk said Byrne's reaction was "a silly, chest-beating exercise."

Provincial politics

In the provincial Liberal Party's 2013 leadership race, Byrne supported Humber Valley MHA Dwight Ball.[7] Byrne retired from federal politics at the 2015 election in order to run successfully provincially later that year becoming MHA for Corner Brook. Following the Ball Liberals forming government in the 2015 election, he was appointed Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour. He currently serves as Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources following a 2017 cabinet shuffle.[8][9]

Gerry Byrne at the Premier's Youth Advisory Council. January 11 2019.

Byrne was re-elected in the 2019 provincial election.[10][11]

Electoral record

Provincial

2019 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Gerry Byrne	2,436	48.8
	Progressive Conservative	Tom Stewart	1,682	33.7
	New Democratic	Mary B. Feltham	733	14.7
	Independent	Wayne Bennett	136	2.7
Total valid votes

2015 Newfoundland and Labrador general election: Corner Brook
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Gerry Byrne	3,121	66.67
	New Democratic	Holly Pike	781	16.68
	Progressive Conservative	Neville Wheaton	779	16.65
Total valid votes			4,681	100.0
Turnout			45.03
Eligible voters			10,397

Federal

2011 Canadian federal election: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Gerry Byrne	17,119	57.04	−10.88
	Conservative	Trevor Taylor	7,559	25.18	+14.56
	New Democratic	Shelley Senior	4,751	15.83	−1.97
	Independent	Wayne Ronald Bennett	332	1.11	−2.55
	Green	Robin Gosse	253	0.84	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			30,014	100.00	–
Total rejected ballots			97	0.32	−0.25
Turnout			30,111	50.91	+6.64
Eligible voters			59,149	–	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		-12.72

2008 Canadian federal election: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Gerry Byrne	17,943	67.92	+15.02	$36,525
	New Democratic	Mark Kennedy	4,703	17.80	+2.90	$2,495
	Conservative	Lorne Robinson	2,806	10.62	−20.54	$11,451
	Newfoundland and Labrador First	Wayne Ronald Bennett	967	3.66	–	$3,719
Total valid votes/Expense limit			26,419	100.00	$90,812
Total rejected ballots			150	0.57	−0.01
Turnout			26,472	44.27	−10.3
Eligible voters			59,797	–	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		+17.78

2006 Canadian federal election: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Gerry Byrne	17,208	52.90	-9.66	$52,162
	Conservative	Cyril Pelley, Jr.	10,137	31.16	+8.21	$41,467
	New Democratic	Holly Pike	4,847	14.90	+1.76	$5,133
	Green	Martin Hanzalek	339	1.04	−0.31
Total valid votes/Expense limit			32,531	100.00	$84,468
Total rejected ballots			191	0.58	+0.13
Turnout			32,722	54.6	+6.8
	Liberal hold		Swing		−8.94

2004 Canadian federal election: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Gerry Byrne	17,820	62.56	+13.77	$61,737
	Conservative	Wynanne Downer	6,538	22.95	−2.41	$49,410
	New Democratic	Holly Pike	3,743	13.14	−12.68	$5,878
	Green	Steve Durant	384	1.35	–	$178
Total valid votes/Expense limit			28,485	100.00	$82,511
Total rejected ballots			128	0.45
Turnout			28,613	47.77
	Liberal hold		Swing		+8.09
Change from 2000 is based on redistributed results. Conservative Party change is based on the combination of Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party totals.

2000 Canadian federal election: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Gerry Byrne	15,446	48.79	+8.95
	New Democratic	Trevor Taylor	8,173	25.82	+11.22
	Progressive Conservative	Peter McBreairty	6,340	20.03	−19.03
	Alliance	Murdock Cole	1,698	5.33	−1.17
Total votes			31,657	100.00
Total rejected ballots			117	0.37
Turnout			31,774	57.99
	Liberal hold		Swing		+7.00
Canadian Alliance changes from 1997 are based on the results of its predecessor, the Reform Party.

1997 Canadian federal election: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Gerry Byrne	12,057	39.84	−15.85
	Progressive Conservative	Art Bull	11,825	39.06	+15.56
	New Democratic	Joan Scott	4,421	14.60	+12.13
	Reform	Randy Wells	1,969	6.50	−11.84
Total votes			30,272	100.00
Total rejected ballots			129	0.42
Turnout			30,401	54.93
	Liberal hold		Swing		−15.71

Canadian federal by-election, March 25, 1996: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Gerry Byrne	12,453	55.69	−26.49
	Progressive Conservative	Danny Kane	5,253	23.50	+8.12
	Reform	Deon Hancock	4,099	18.34	–
	New Democratic	Coleen Dingwell-Corbin	554	2.47	+0.03
Total votes			22,359	100.00
	Liberal hold		Swing		−17.31
By-election due to the resignation of Brian Tobin, January 25, 1996

References

1. "Gerry Byrne". Newfoundland House of Assembly. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
2. "Even Ignatieff supporters have mixed views over his Quebec 'nation' idea". Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
3. "46 MPs back Ignatieff". Toronto: thestar.com. 2010-04-24. Archived from the original on 2008-12-12. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
4. MacKinnon, Leslie (February 8, 2013). "Half of Liberal MPs support Trudeau for leader". CBC News. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
5. "Pie in the Face" The Globe and Mail, January 26, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
6. "A tofu cream pie in the face is an act of terrorism, Liberal MP tells radio station". National Post, January 27, 2010.
7. "Ball wants healthy competition for Liberal leadership". The Western Star. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
8. "After delay, Corner Brook salmon anglers line up early to purchase licences". CBC News. June 4, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
9. "DFO gets blame for printing error of salmon licences". CBC News. May 25, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.

External links

• Gerry Byrne's Webpage
• Gerry Byrne (politician) – Parliament of Canada biography

Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Government of Dwight Ball
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Clyde Jackman	Minister of Advanced Education & Skills December 14, 2015 – July 31, 2017	Al Hawkins