Kevin O'Brien (Newfoundland and Labrador politician)

Kevin George O'Brien MHA, (born August 25, 1956) is a Canadian businessman, pharmacist and politician in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He served as the province's Minister of Advanced Education and Skills. O'Brien was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) in 2003, representing the district of Gander until his resignation in 2015.[1] He resigned his provincial seat on July 3, 2015 to run federally in the 2015 federal election.[2]

For the MLA in Nunavut, see Kevin O'Brien (Nunavut politician).

Kevin O'Brien
Minister of Municipal Affairs of Newfoundland and Labrador
In office 2010–2013
Preceded by	Dianne Whalen
Succeeded by	Steve Kent
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for Gander
In office 2003 – July 3, 2015
Preceded by	Sandra Kelly
Succeeded by	John Haggie
Minister of Government Services of Newfoundland and Labrador
In office 2007–2010
Preceded by	Dianne Whalen
Succeeded by	Harry Harding
Minister of Business of Newfoundland and Labrador
In office 2006–2007
Preceded by	Danny Williams
Succeeded by	Paul Oram
Personal details
Born	(1956-08-25) August 25, 1956 Ferryland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Residence	Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Occupation	Pharmacist, Businessman

Politics

O'Brien was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party in 2003 representing the district of Gander. He was appointed to Cabinet in July 2006, becoming the Minister of Business.[3][4] Following his re-election in 2007, O'Brien was shuffled into the portfolio of Government Services.[5] With the death of fellow Municipal Affairs Minister Dianne Whalen in October 2010 O'Brien was shuffled out of the Government Services portfolio and into Municipal Affairs.[6]

In September 2013, O'Brien was accused by the Gander Chamber of Commerce of threatening to slow down construction of a new school in Gander if NDP representatives were allowed to be present at a community breakfast. The Chamber of Commerce also alleged that O'Brien had made similar threats in the past. O'Brien denied the allegations.[7]

On October 9, 2013, O'Brien was shuffled to Minister of Advanced Education.[8][9] In March 2015, O'Brien resigned from cabinet.[10] In July 2015, O'Brien resigned his provincial seat to run for the federal Conservative party in the riding of Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame in the 2015 federal election.[11][12] On October 19, 2015, O'Brien was defeated in the federal election by Liberal incumbent Scott Simms.[13][14]

Electoral record

2015 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Scott Simms	26,523	74.82	+19.90	$53,460.35
	Conservative	Kevin O'Brien	6,479	18.28	–12.04	$151,187.70
	New Democratic	Claudette Menchenton	2,175	6.14	–7.49	$3,416.01
	Green	Elizabeth Perry	271	0.76	–0.12	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			35,448	100.00		$238,355.39
Total rejected ballots			145	0.41	–
Turnout			35,593	55.71	–
Eligible voters			63,891
	Liberal notional hold		Swing		+15.97
Source: Elections Canada[15][16]

2011 Newfoundland and Labrador general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Progressive Conservative	Kevin O'Brien	2393	52.27%	–
	Liberal	Barry Warren	1415	30.91%
	NDP	Lukas Norman	770	16.82%

2007 Newfoundland and Labrador general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Progressive Conservative	Kevin O'Brien	3599	75.1%	+13.2%
	Liberal	Stephanie Winsor	1193	24.9%	+8.2%

2003 Newfoundland and Labrador general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Progressive Conservative	Kevin O'Brien	3621	61.38	–
	Liberal	Dianne Crewe	1930	32.71
	NDP	Steve Johnson	348	5.89

1999 Newfoundland and Labrador general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Sandra Kelly	3,064	49.5%
	Progressive Conservative	Kevin O'Brien	2,926	47.2%	–
	NDP	Roy Locke	193	3.1%

1996 Newfoundland and Labrador general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Sandra Kelly	3,585	55.6%
	Progressive Conservative	Kevin O'Brien	2,840	44.0%	–

References

1. "Kevin O'Brien Biography". Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
2. "Kevin O'Brien Responds to Previous Comments About Prime Minister". VOCM. July 3, 2015. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
3. "Cabinet shuffle follows N.L. audit scandal". CBC News. July 5, 2006. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
4. "Premier announces changes to Cabinet". Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. July 5, 2006. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
5. "Premier Announces the Appointment of New Cabinet". Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. October 30, 2007. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
6. "N.L. cabinet shuffle announced". CBC News. October 13, 2010. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
7. "Kevin O'Brien accused of threatening chamber of commerce". CBC News. September 16, 2013. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
8. "Premier adds two new faces to cabinet in major shuffle". NTV. October 9, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
9. "Kent, Crummell make cabinet cut". CBC News. October 9, 2013. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
10. "O'Brien says goodbye to cabinet". The Telegram. St. John's. March 12, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
11. "Kevin O'Brien will run as federal Conservative candidate". CBC News. July 2, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
12. "O'Brien resigns as MHA". The Telegram. St. John's. July 3, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
13. "Scott Simms keeps seat in Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame". CBC News. October 20, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
14. "No more politicking for Kevin O'Brien". The Telefram. St. John's. October 19, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
15. "October 19, 2015 Election Results — Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame (Validated results)". Elections Canada. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
16. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived August 15, 2015, at the Wayback Machine