Matt DeCourcey

Matthew DeCourcey (born April 4, 1983) is a Canadian Liberal politician, who represented the riding of Fredericton in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 until 2019.[1]

Matt DeCourcey
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office January 30, 2017 – May 3, 2019
Minister	Chrystia Freeland
Preceded by	Pamela Goldsmith-Jones
Succeeded by	Rob Oliphant
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Fredericton
In office October 19, 2015 – October 21, 2019
Preceded by	Keith Ashfield
Succeeded by	Jenica Atwin
Personal details
Born	(1983-04-04) April 4, 1983 Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Residence	Fredericton, New Brunswick
Alma mater	St. Thomas University Mount Saint Vincent University
Profession	community outreach specialist

Family and education

Matthew Carey DeCourcey is the son of Harold DeCourcey a retired probation officer for the Province of New Brunswick and Dawn DeCourcey, a retired teacher in Fredericton, New Brunswick. His sister, Michelle DeCourcey, is the coach of the St. Thomas University women's soccer team.

DeCourcey graduated from Fredericton High School in 2001. DeCourcey graduated from St. Thomas University in 2005. DeCourcey graduated from Mount St. Vincent University in 2007 with a Master's degree in public relations (MPR) and was valedictorian.

In 2019, he announced his engagement to Liberal member of Parliament Maryam Monsef.[2]

Career

DeCourcey first became involved in politics during his studies at St. Thomas University, volunteering for Paul Martin's successful federal Liberal leadership bid in 2003.[3] He worked for Fredericton MP Andy Scott from 2005 to 2006, and subsequently worked for Labrador MP Todd Russell.[4][3] He was a director on the board of the Fredericton YMCA and taught Child and Youth Rights at Saint Thomas Aquinas University.[3]

He spent five months in The Gambia on an international development initiative, and on his return to Canada he became the director of communications for New Brunswick's Child and Youth Advocate.[4]

Politics

DeCourcey became the Liberal Party's candidate in Fredericton during the 2015 federal election, and won, ousting Conservative incumbent and former cabinet minister Keith Ashfield.

DeCourcey was appointed to the House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform, which was established due to the campaign promise made by DeCourcey and the Liberal Party that 2015 would be the last Federal election decided under the first-past-the-post system. That committee travelled across Canada in 2016 to consult with Canadians as to their preference for electoral reform, and in doing so, heard widespread support for a switch from the first-past-the-post electoral system to proportional representation.[5] DeCourcey and the Liberal Party ultimately refused to table any legislation to enact electoral reform.

He was defeated in the 2019 federal election by Jenica Atwin of the Green Party.

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Fredericton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Green	Jenica Atwin	16,640	33.68	+21.26
	Conservative	Andrea Johnson	15,011	30.38	+1.96
	Liberal	Matt DeCourcey	13,544	27.41	−21.85
	New Democratic	Mackenzie Thomason	2,946	5.96	−3.93
	People's	Jason Paull	776	1.57	New
	Animal Protection	Lesley Thomas	286	0.58	New
	Libertarian	Brandon Kirby	126	0.26	New
	Communist	Jacob Patterson	80	0.16	New
Total valid votes/Expense limit			49,409	100.0		$101,795.92
Total rejected ballots			301	0.61	+0.20
Turnout			49,710	75.52	−0.21
Eligible voters			65,825
	Green gain from Liberal		Swing		+21.56
Source: Elections Canada[6][7]

2015 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Matt DeCourcey	23,016	49.26	+25.24	–
	Conservative	Keith Ashfield	13,280	28.42	-18.55	–
	Green	Mary Lou Babineau	5,804	12.42	+8.27	–
	New Democratic	Sharon Scott-Levesque	4,622	9.89	-14.41	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			46,722	100.0		$194,784.13[8]
Total rejected ballots			188	–	–
Turnout			46,910	–	–
Eligible voters			60,587
Source: Elections Canada[9][10]

References

1. Matt DeCourcey wins Fredericton, CBC News, October 19, 2015.
2. "Liberal Minister Announces Engagement To Defeated MP". HuffPost Canada. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
3. Alex Corbett, Matt DeCourcey, the picture of Liberal ambition Archived 2015-10-15 at the Wayback Machine, The New Brunswick Beacon, October 14, 2015.
4. Meet Matt DeCourcey, Liberal.ca.
5. Howe, P. (2018). A New Electoral System for New Brunswick. Journal of New Brunswick Studies, Issue 9, p. 5.
6. "Results Validated by the Returning Officer". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
7. "Final Election Expense Limits for Candidates: 43rd General Election - October 21, 2019". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
8. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
9. Elections Canada – List of candidates Fredericton (New Brunswick), General Election (Monday, October 19, 2015)

External links

• Official Website