Dwight Ball

Dwight Ball MHA (born 21 December 1957) is a Canadian politician, the 13th and current premier of Newfoundland and Labrador since 14 December 2015 and an MHA. He represents the electoral district of Humber Valley in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly and has served as leader of the Liberal Party since November 2013.

The Honourable

Dwight Ball

MHA
Premier Dwight Ball in November 2016
13th Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
Assumed office
14 December 2015
MonarchElizabeth II
Lieutenant GovernorFrank Fagan
Judy Foote
Preceded byPaul Davis
Succeeded byAndrew Furey[1] (designate)
Minister of Intergovernmental and Indigenous Affairs
Assumed office
8 November 2018[2]
Preceded byposition established
Minister Responsible for Labrador Affairs
Assumed office
8 November 2018[3]
Preceded byposition established
Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs
In office
14 December 2015 – 8 November 2018[4]
Preceded byKeith Russell
Succeeded byposition abolished
Leader of the Opposition
In office
17 November 2013 – 14 December 2015
Preceded byEddie Joyce (Interim)
Succeeded byPaul Davis
Assembly Member
for Humber-Gros Morne
Humber Valley (2007, 2011-2015)
In office
3 January 2012 – 18 July 2013
Interim
Preceded byYvonne Jones
Succeeded byEddie Joyce (Interim)
Leader of the Liberal Party
In office
17 November 2013 – 3 August 2020[5]
Preceded byEddie Joyce (Interim)
Succeeded byAndrew Furey
Assumed office
30 November 2015
Preceded bydistrict established
In office
11 October 2011 – 30 November 2015
Preceded byDarryl Kelly
Succeeded bydistrict abolished
In office
13 February 2007 – 9 October 2007
Preceded byKathy Goudie
Succeeded byDarryl Kelly
Personal details
Born (1957-12-21) 21 December 1957
Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Political partyLiberal
ProfessionPharmacist

On 3 January 2012, Ball began his duties as Leader of the Official Opposition and interim leader of the Liberal Party. On 5 July 2013, Ball stepped down as interim leader of the Liberal Party to run for the position permanently in the 2013 leadership election, which he won. He was sworn in on 14 December 2015.

On 30 November 2015, Ball won a 31-seat majority government in the 2015 election. The Ball government was re-elected to a minority government in 2019.

On 17 February 2020, Ball announced his pending resignation and will stay on as Premier until after a successor has been chosen. On 3 August 2020, Andrew Furey was chosen to succeed Ball after winning the provincial Liberal leadership race. [6]

Early life and career

Dwight Ball was raised in Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador, and graduated from Elwood Regional High School.[7] He attended Memorial University when he was 17 years old.[7] His younger brother is Deer Lake's mayor Dean Ball.[8]

Ball was the recipient of the Bowl of Hygeia Award for his work as a community pharmacist that began with his franchising of the Deer Lake Pharmacy.[7] Ball later bought a community pharmacy in Springdale.[7] Ball is also the owner of several senior care homes and is involved in real estate development and venture capital investments.[7] The towns of Deer Lake and Springdale have independently both named Ball as Employer of the Year for his contributions to supportive employment programs in the area.[7] He won a byelection for a seat in winter of 2007, only to lose it in the fall of 2007 NL provincial general election. News outlets from thereon in cited him as a possible future NL liberal party leader and premier of NL (NTV news coverage in 2007).

Politics

Ball was the Liberal candidate in the district of Humber Valley in the 2003 provincial election but was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate Kathy Goudie by less than 200 votes. When Goudie resigned from the legislature, Ball ran in a by-election to succeed her on 13 February 2007. At first, it was announced that Progressive Conservative candidate Darryl Kelly had won the by-election by a margin of twelve votes; however, Ball was later declared elected by a margin of 18 votes. A judicial recount was conducted weeks later and resulted in a reduction of Ball's lead to seven votes.[9][10] In a rematch in the general election on 9 October 2007, Kelly defeated Ball by 254 votes. Four years later Ball once again ran as the Liberal candidate in the 2011 election and this time narrowly defeated Kelly by 68 votes.[11]

Leadership

At a press conference on 15 December 2011, the Liberal Party announced that Ball would serve as interim leader of the party and as the Leader of the Official Opposition, effective 3 January 2012.[12] He succeeds Kevin Aylward, who failed to win a seat in the general election, as leader of the Liberal Party and Yvonne Jones as the Official Opposition Leader. Ball announced on the same day that he planned to run for the permanent leadership of the party at the next leadership convention, and that he would step down as interim leader 90 days before the convention to even the playing field for other candidates.[13] In May 2012, the party announced the leadership convention would take place from 15–17 November 2013.[14] On 5 July 2013, Ball stepped down as interim leader of the Liberal Party to run for the position permanently in the leadership election that November, which he won with 59% of the vote on the 3rd ballot.[15][16] Ball served as leader for the party in the 2015 general election.[7]

Premiership (2015–present)

Ball was sworn in as Premier in December 2015 after leading the Liberal Party to win 31 of 40 seats in the House of Assembly in the election in November.

Despite consistent Progressive Conservative leads in polling through the debate, including a 9-point lead in the final poll, released a day before the election,[17] The Liberal Party led by Dwight Ball won re-election in the 2019 provincial election, but nonetheless fell one seat short of retaining their majority after an unexpected loss to the New Democrats in Labrador West by 5 votes.[18]

On 17 February 2020, Premier Ball announced his resignation as Premier and Leader of the Liberal Party. He will remain at his post until a new leader is chosen at the party convention.

Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs

Ball took over the post of Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs from PC Keith Russell after the election in 2015. This decision was somewhat controversial as none of the Aboriginal MHAs from Labrador were appointed to Ball's cabinet and Ball was neither from Labrador or an Aboriginal[19] however the move was supported by NunatuKavut president and former Labrador MP Todd Russell.[20]

In 2016, Ball announced a study on the costs of a fixed link between the island and Labrador.[21]

On 11 June 2018, Ball announced Vale Limited is moving forward with its underground mine at Voisey's Bay. Ball stated that the move will extend the mine's operating life by at least 15 years. Over the five-year construction, more than 16,000 person-years of employment will be created according to Ball.[22] First ore is expected no later than April 2021.

Inquiries

In December 2015, it was announced that public inquiries into the deaths of Don Dunphy (a man from Mitchells Brook who was shot dead by a police officer after posting content on Twitter that was deemed a "security threat".) and Burton Winters (a teenager from Makkovik who got lost by himself outside of his community and died of hypothermia while a search helicopter did not arrive until 52 hours later.) would take place.[23]

2016-17 budget

The provincial government unveiled its budget in April 2016 and it implements austerity measures. Ball and Minister of Finance Cathy Bennett do not expect the province to see another surplus until 2022.

Anti-austerity protests have taken place across the province in areas like St. John's, Corner Brook and Happy Valley-Goose Bay.[24]

Natural resources

Ed Martin scandal

In early 2016, Nalcor Energy CEO Ed Martin left the company. Ball and Martin each claim that Martin left under conflicting circumstances.[25][26]

Lower Churchill Project

The cost of the Lower Churchill Project has doubled since it started development nearly a decade before Ball took office. The province's financial situation was different when the project started development, the price of oil was high (Newfoundland and Labrador is an oil-producing province), however the price of oil and the value of the Canadian dollar has gone down since. Ball has blamed the governments of Danny Williams and Kathy Dunderdale for the number of problems that the project has caused.[27]

In 2017, Ball announced an inquiry into the Muskrat Falls Hydroelectric project.[28][29][30]

Popularity

During the 2015 election campaign Ball's Liberals usually saw public approval ratings well over 50%. His party earned 57.2% of the votes in the election. In February 2016, a poll showed that 60% of respondents approved of Ball's work as premier.[31]

The 2016-17 budget had a huge impact on Ball's public approval. A poll from MQO Research in April 2016 showed a near tie in support for all 3 parties,[32] a huge difference from a few months later when Ball's liberals had far more support than the other 2 parties. Combined with the scandal involving Ed Martin, Ball's public support has dropped at a fast rate since the election. A poll in May 2016 showed that Ball was the least popular head of government in the country with a 17% approval rating. The second lowest score was Ontario's Kathleen Wynne with 24%.[33]

An online petition calling for Ball's resignation went viral in June 2016,[34] but Ball has stated that he will not resign and he also stated that the province would not go bankrupt.[35]

Support within the Liberal Party

Paul Lane, the MHA for Mount Pearl-Southlands, was suspended from the Liberal caucus in 2016 opposing the budget. Despite an online petition calling for Brian Warr to leave the caucus and sit as an independent MHA, Warr did not change parties.[36]

Drew Brown, a Liberal candidate in the 2007 and 2011 Newfoundland provincial general elections, wrote an article for Vice News calling for Ball's resignation[37] and he later criticized the government's oversight of the Lower Churchill Project and its impacts on Lake Melville.[38] Ball has also been criticized by former premier Roger Grimes.[39] On 16 June 2018 delegates at the Liberal Party Annual General Meeting vote to endorse the leadership of Ball with 79% voting against the party holding a leadership convention.[40]

Resignation

On 17 February 2020, Ball announced his pending resignation as leader of the Liberal Party and Premier amidst accusations of cronyism. The decision came after CBC News linked Ball to awarding the sole-source contract for the Crown corporation Nalcor Energy to Gordon McIntosh, former Deputy of Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady and the designer of Newfoundland and Labrador's off-shore energy plan.[41][42]

The Liberal Party initially planned to elect a new leader in May 2020 however the election was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership election, surgeon Andrew Furey was chosen as Ball's successor.

Electoral record
2019 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalDwight Ball4,24769.9
Progressive ConservativeGreg Osmond1,82530.1
Total valid votes
Humber - Gros Morne - 2015 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
LiberalDwight Ball4,61075.98%–
Progressive ConservativeGraydon Pelley98316.20%–
New DemocraticMike Goosney4747.81%–
2013 Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership election
Ballot 1 Ballot 2 Ballot 3
Candidate Votes % Points % Votes % Points % Votes % Points %
Dwight Ball 10,944 45.94% 2,130.05 44.38% 11,306 48.45% 2,257.15 47.02% 12,598 60.64% 2,832.29 59.01%
Paul Antle 6,340 26.61% 1,321.15 27.52% 6,600 28.28% 1,397.86 29.12% 8,178 39.36% 1,967.71 40.99%
Cathy Bennett 5,252 22.05% 1,089.05 22.69% 5,431 23.27% 1,144.99 23.85%
Danny Dumaresque 670 2.81% 131.69 2.74%
Jim Bennett 617 2.59% 128.05 2.67%
Total 23,823 100.00 4,800.00 100.00 23,337 100.00 4,800.00 100.00 20,776 100.00 4,800.00 100.00
Humber Valley - 2011 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
LiberalDwight Ball2,60948.14%+1.05
Progressive ConservativeDarryl Kelly2,54146.88%- 4.54
New DemocraticSheldon Hynes2704.98%–
Humber Valley - 2007 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Progressive ConservativeDarryl Kelly3,02351.42%+2.88
LiberalDwight Ball2,76947.09%-1.61
New DemocraticKris Hynes871.47%–
Humber Valley - By-election, 13 February 2007
Resignation of Kathy Goudie
Party Candidate Votes % ±
LiberalDwight Ball2,15348.70%+1.42
Progressive ConservativeDarryl Kelly2,14648.54%–
New DemocraticShelley Senior1222.76%–
Humber Valley - 2003 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Progressive ConservativeKathy Goudie2,79652.73%–
LiberalDwight Ball2,50747.28%–

[43]

References
  1. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/abbott-furey-liberal-leader-nl-1.5672194
  2. https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2018/exec/1108n07/
  3. https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2018/exec/1108n07/
  4. https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2018/exec/1108n07/
  5. Interim: 3 January 2012 – 5 July 2013
  6. "Andrew Furey wins Liberal leadership race, will become 14th premier of N.L." Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  7. Gushue, Lisa (23 November 2015). "Take us to your leaders: What you may not know about Davis, Ball and McCurdy". CBC News. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  8. "Dwight Ball takes the quiet approach to leadership". Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  9. "Judicial recount set for Humber Valley ballots". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 February 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  10. "Liberal declared winner in Humber Valley recount". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 March 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  11. Hutchings, Paul (12 October 2011). "Race with incumbent was too close to call: Ball". The Western Star. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  12. "Dwight Ball named Liberal Party leader". The Telegram. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  13. "Dwight Ball wants to lead Liberals into 2015 vote". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  14. "Liberal Party Announces Date of Leadership Convention". Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  15. "Dwight Ball officially in Liberal leadership race". CBC. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  16. "Dwight Ball wins Liberal leadership". CBC News. 17 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  17. Grenier, Éric (18 May 2019). "What didn't happen in the N.L. election – and why that matters". The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  18. Cooke, Ryan (16 May 2019). "Liberals to hold minority government in N.L., PCs not conceding defeat". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  19. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/cabinet-swearing-in-live-stream-1.3363654
  20. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/programs/labradormorning/todd-russell-sits-down-with-dwight-ball-1.3403501
  21. "Government to Explore Tunnel Viability Between Island and Labrador". VOCM. 7 May 2016. Archived from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  23. Dwight Ball: N.L.'s unlikely premier and the problems he faces
  24. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/russell-protest-budget-demonstration-labrador-1.3548238
  25. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/ed-martin-severance-1.3597700
  26. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/ed-martin-severance-scandal-premier-incompetent-1.3614040
  27. “Blame The PCs”: Government Reacts To Dire Muskrat Falls Report
  31. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/premier-dwight-ball-second-approval-rating-1.3451397
  32. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/liberals-slide-in-latest-opinion-poll-1.3553317
  33. http://angusreid.org/premier-approval-may2016/
  34. http://vocm.com/news/petition-calling-for-premier-to-resign-building-steam/
  35. http://vocm.com/news/i-have-zero-intention-of-resigning-dwight-ball/
  36. http://www.thenorwester.ca/news/local/2016/5/26/petition-asks-mha-to-join-paul-lane.html
  37. https://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/balls-to-the-wall-newfoundland-premier-could-be-exiled-over-payout-scandal
  38. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxmdLC8XGeY
  39. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/grimes-criticizes-liberals-budget-1.3549461
  41. "'How deep does this go?' Opposition leaders question latest sole-source Liberal hire". CBC News. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  42. "Dwight Ball stepping down as Newfoundland and Labrador premier". CBC News. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  43. Newfoundland & Labrador Votes 2003. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 May 2003.
Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Government of Dwight Ball
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Paul Davis Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
14 December 2015–present		 Andrew Furey
Designate
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