Siobhán Coady

Siobhán Coady (/ʃəˈvɔːn/; born November 11, 1960) is a Canadian businesswoman and politician from Newfoundland and Labrador. She represents the riding of St. John's West in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly as a Liberal. Coady previously served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of St. John's South–Mount Pearl from 2008 to 2011. She is currently Minister of Natural Resources in the Ball government. She was sworn is as Government House Leader on October 30, 2019.

The Honourable Siobhán Coady MHA
Siobhan Coady at the opening of the Team Gushue Highway Extension, November 2018
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for St. John's West
Incumbent
Assumed office November 30, 2015
Preceded by	Dan Crummell
Member of the Canadian Parliament for St. John's South–Mount Pearl
In office October 14, 2008 – May 2, 2011
Preceded by	Loyola Hearn
Succeeded by	Ryan Cleary
Personal details
Born	(1960-11-11) November 11, 1960 Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador
Political party	Liberal Party of Canada
Residence	St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
Alma mater	Memorial University of Newfoundland
Occupation	businesswoman

Personal life

Coady was born in Grand Falls-Windsor and raised in St. John's. She is an alumna of Memorial University of Newfoundland having received a Bachelor of Education degree. She is also an accredited public relations professional. Coady, her husband Pat and their nephew Brook live in St. John's.

Before entering politics, Coady was President and CEO of Newfound Genomics Inc., a leading biotechnology company; The Clinical Trials Centre, a medical research company; and Bonaventure Fisheries Inc., a privately held fish harvesting company. She is a past Chair and Governor of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and was President of the St. John’s Board of Trade in 1993.

Coady has volunteered in a wide range of activities with community organizations including as Past Chair of the Regional Economic Development Board, the Newfoundland and Labrador Business Hall of Fame, and the Red Cross Campaign. Until her election to Parliament, Coady was a member of the Board of Directors for the Genesis Centre, the Children’s Wish Foundation, Genome Canada, the Public Policy Forum, the St. John’s International Airport Authority, and was the public representative on the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Newfoundland.

Federal politics

Coady ran as the Liberal Party of Canada candidate in the riding of St. John's South-Mount Pearl in the 2004 and 2006 federal elections, losing to Conservative Party incumbent Loyola Hearn.

Coady campaigning during the 2008 election

With the retirement of Hearn, Coady ran for Parliament again in the 2008 federal election, defeating her nearest rival, New Democratic Party candidate Ryan Cleary, by a 3% margin.[1][2][3]

After the 2008 election, Liberal Party leader, Stéphane Dion appointed Coady to the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet as Critic for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. In 2009, Liberal Leader, Michael Ignatieff appointed Coady as the Liberal Critic for the Treasury Board.

Coady has been on several committees including the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) and was a member of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science, and Technology (INDU).[4] [5]

While Coady was considered by many to be a rising star within the Liberal caucus, and led in an opinion poll before the election, she lost her seat in the May 2, 2011, election to New Democratic Party candidate Ryan Cleary by 7,750 votes.[6][7][8][9]

Following her election defeat it was reported that Coady was being lobbied by members of the Liberal Party to run for the party's presidency in January 2012, after Alfred Apps announced he would not run for re-election.[10] In July 2011, Coady announced that she would consider being a candidate in the election to be President of the Liberal Party. Her announcement came just after former Deputy Prime Minister Sheila Copps announced that she was also considering being a candidate for president.[11] However, Coady did not end up entering the race for the presidency.

At the Liberal Party's caucus retreat at the end of August 2011, she spoke about her desire to establish a policy think tank, similar to the Broadbent Institute and the Manning Centre for Building Democracy that had been established by New Democrats and Conservatives respectively. The think tank would look at the various ideals and principles that the Liberal Party had brought to the country and investigate their vision for the country. The institute would study, analyze and find policy suggestions to questions such as how to best ensure a quality health care system in the future, as well as how to ensure innovation, productivity and job growth.[12]

Provincial politics

In August 2011, following resignation of Yvonne Jones as Leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, Coady's name was brought up as a possible successor. While she stated early on she would not seek the leadership she continued to be lobbied by supporters to enter the race and was considered a frontrunner for the position.[13]

In June 2014, Coady was nominated as the provincial Liberal candidate for St. John's West in the 2015 election.[14] On November 30, 2015, Coady won the seat, defeating New Democrat leader Earle McCurdy and Progressive Conservative incumbent Dan Crummell.[15] She was re-elected in the 2019 provincial election.

Minister of Natural Resources

In December 2015, Coady was appointed Minister of Natural Resources in the cabinet appointed by Dwight Ball.[16] She has recently been involved in a scandal involving payments to former Nalcor CEO Ed Martin.[17]

Lower Churchill Project

Electoral history

2019 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Siobhan Coady	2,393	45.7
	Progressive Conservative	Shane Skinner	2,211	42.2
	New Democratic	Brenda Walsh	633	12.1
Total valid votes
Total rejected ballots
Turnout
Electors on the lists				–
Source: Elections Canada[18]

St. John's West - 2015 Newfoundland and Labrador general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Siobhán Coady	2,342	46.0
	New Democratic	Earle McCurdy	1,384	27.2
	Progressive Conservative	Dan Crummell	1,364	26.8

2011 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Ryan Cleary	18,681	47.92	+7.36	$67,211.17
	Liberal	Siobhán Coady	11,130	28.55	-14.77	$81,760.42
	Conservative	Loyola Sullivan	8,883	22.79	+10.24	$78,347.37
	Green	Rick Austin	291	0.75	-1.11	none listed
Total valid votes/Expense limit			38,985	100.0	–	$82,628.65
Total rejected, declined and unmarked ballots			108	0.28	+0.01
Turnout			39,093	58.97	+7.02
Eligible voters			66,294
	New Democratic gain from Liberal		Swing		+11.06
Sources:[19][20]

2008 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Siobhán Coady	14,920	43.32	+10.32	$63,155.64
	New Democratic	Ryan Cleary	13,971	40.56	+18.87	$18,947.03
	Conservative	Merv Wiseman	4,324	12.55	-32.13	$63,115.88
	Green	Ted Warren	643	1.86	+1.23	$172.03
	Newfoundland and Labrador First	Greg Byrne	402	1.16	–	$2,908.17
	Independent	Terry Christopher Butler	179	0.51	–	none listed
Total valid votes/Expense limit			34,439	100.0	–	$80,167
Total rejected, declined and unmarked ballots			92	0.27	-0.06
Turnout			34,531	51.95
Eligible voters			66,467
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		-4.28

2006 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Loyola Hearn	16,644	44.68	+5.11	$67,639.04
	Liberal	Siobhán Coady	12,295	33.00	-2.26	$68,791.05
	New Democratic	Peg Norman	8,079	21.69	-2.02	$40,492.63
	Green	Barry Crozier	235	0.63	-0.83	none listed
Total valid votes/Expense limit			37,253	100.0	–	$73,776
Total rejected, declined and unmarked ballots			124	0.33	+0.03
Turnout			37,371	57.90	+5.42
Eligible voters			64,543
	Conservative hold		Swing		+3.68

2004 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Loyola Hearn	13,330	39.57	-16.27	$63,090.26
	Liberal	Siobhán Coady	11,879	35.26	+4.91	$63,121.27
	New Democratic	Peg Norman	7989	23.71	+10.31	$36,839.75
	Green	Steve Willcott	493	1.46	–	$184.24
Total valid votes/Expense limit			33,691	100.0	–	$72,104
Total rejected, declined and unmarked ballots			103	0.30
Turnout			33,794	52.48	-1.38
Eligible voters			64,397
	Conservative notional gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		-10.59
Changes from 2000 are based on redistributed results. Change for the Conservatives is based on the combined totals of the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance.

Awards received

• In 1994, the Atlantic Canada Chamber of Commerce awarded Coady the Harvey Webber Award in recognition of her outstanding service in strengthening the Chamber movement in Atlantic Canada.
• In 2003, Coady received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal and was recognized as an Ambassador for Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador.
• In 2004, Coady was recognized as one of the Top 50 CEO’s in Atlantic Canada.
• In 2006, Coady was named Entrepreneur of the Year, Avalon region, by the Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs and her company, Newfound Genomics, was awarded the innovation award by the St. John's Board of Trade.

References

1. "Hearn elected in St. John's South". CBC News, June 29, 2004. Retrieved via Internet Archive.
2. "Manning takes Avalon as Grits hold 4 ridings". CBC News, January 23, 2006.
3. "Coady wins tight fight against NDP's Cleary". The Telegram, October 15, 2008.
4. "Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) Membership". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
5. "Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU) Membership". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
6. "Winners, losers in 2011 election". Montreal Gazette. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
7. Naumetz, Tim (21 November 2011). "NDP decision to limit leadership debates stirs more unrest". The Hill Times. Archived from the original on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
8. Bartlett, Dave (25 April 2011). "Too close to call". The Telegram. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
9. "NDP's Cleary knocks Liberals out of St. John's riding". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
10. "Bob the rebuilder surveys the Liberal wreckage". The Globe and Mail. 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
11. "Liberal veterans vie for party presidency". National Post. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
12. "Liberal Party Institute: Grits Float Policy Think Tank To Rival Manning Centre, Broadbent Institute". The Huffington Post. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
13. "First Liberal leadership hopefuls announced". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
14. "Siobhan Coady Liberal candidate for St. John's West". CBC News. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 2015-01-14.
15. "NDP Leader Earle McCurdy loses to Siobhan Coady". CBC News. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
16. "Dwight Ball, new Liberal cabinet sworn in at Government House". CBC News. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
17. http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2016-06-04/article-4548825/Political-analysis%3A-Crisis-of-confidence/1
19. Elections Canada – Official voting results, Forty-first general election, 2011
20. Elections Canada – Candidate's electoral campaign return, 41st general election

External links

• Siobhán Coady – Parliament of Canada biography