Dan Crummell

Dan Crummell
BA, MHA
Minister of Service NL of Newfoundland and Labrador
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 9, 2013
Preceded by Nick McGrath
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
for St. John's West
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 27, 2011
Preceded by Sheila Osborne
Personal details
Born Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador
Political party Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s) Valerie Thomson
Residence St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Dan Crummell MHA, is a Canadian politician in Newfoundland and Labrador and Minister of Environment and Conservation. Crummell has represented the district of St. John's West in Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly since 2011, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. In a 1995 by-election and the 1996 provincial election, Crummell was the Progressive Conservative candidate in the district of Gander.

Background

Crummell was raised in the town of Gander in central Newfoundland. He moved to St. John's to pursue his post-secondary education at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), and completed an Arts degree with a major in Political Science and minors in English and History. During his time at MUN, Crummell served as the Executive Vice-President and later President of Memorial University’s Council of the Students’ Union. Following his graduation he worked in sales and marketing with Molson Canada. He spent 25 years with the company, and spent 10 years as the Regional Sales Manager for Newfoundland and Labrador.[1]

Politics

Crummell first sought political office when he ran as the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) candidate in an October 10, 1995 by-election in the district of Gander. The by-election was called following the resignation of Liberal cabinet minister Winston Baker, who had held the seat since 1985. PC Party leader Lynn Verge admitted that it would be a tremendous upset if her party was able to take the seat from the Liberals in the by-election.[2] On election night Liberal candidate Gary Vey defeated Crummell by just 46 votes.[3] A provincial election was called only months later for February 22, 1996, and Crummell once again ran as the candidate for the PC Party in Gander. Gander mayor Sandra Kelly, who lost the Liberal nomination to Vey for the October by-election, was now the Liberal candidate for the district. Kelly defeated Crummell by over 700 votes, and the Liberal Party were re-elected to a majority government.[4]

Government backbencher

On July 18, 2011, Crummell defeated Glenn Moores to become the Progressive Conservative candidate in the district of St. John's West, for that year's provincial election.[5] In the October 11, election Crummell defeated New Democratic Party candidate Chris Pickard by less than 300 votes, while the Liberal candidate finished a distant third.[6] On October 24, 2012, Crummell was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills (Apprenticeship and Labour Market).[7]

In a November 2012, radio interview Crummell stated that he thought federal Intergovernmental Affairs minister Peter Penashue should do the honourable thing and resign from cabinet. Penashue, Newfoundland and Labrador's representative in the federal cabinet, was facing allegations of improper campaign spending and donations. Hours after Crummell made the comments on CBC's radio program On Point, he sent out an email saying that he was unaware that an official agent had been appointed to look into the issues with Penashue and that he thought it was important for the province to have representation in the federal cabinet.[8] Five months later Penashue resigned as minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and as the member of Parliament for Labrador, and announced he would run in a by-election after it was confirmed he had accepted ineligible donations in the 2011 election.[9] He was later defeated in a by-election.[10]

Minister of Service NL

On October 9, 2013 Premier Kathy Dunderdale appointed Crummell Minister of Service NL, in a major shuffle that saw him and MHA Steve Kent enter cabinet. Along with being named Minister of Service NL, Crumell is Minister Responsible for the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission, Minister Responsible for the Office of the Chief Information Officer, and Minister Responsible for the Government Purchasing Agency.[11]

Electoral record

St. John's West - Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2011
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive ConservativeDan Crummell 2,004 43.45
     NDP Chris Pickard 1,729 37.4
     Liberal George Joyce 890 19.25
}
Gander - Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 1996
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
     Liberal Sandra Kelly 3,585 55.8 +8.0
Progressive ConservativeDan Crummell 2,840 44.2% -2.7
}
Gander By-Election - October 10, 1995

On the resignation of Winston Baker, July 31, 1995[3]

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
     Liberal Gary Vey 2,421 47.8%
Progressive ConservativeDan Crummell 2,375 46.9%
     NDP Roy Locke 268 5.3%

References

  1. ↑ "Dan Crummell Profile". House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "Newfoundland Tories hope for Gander by-election upset". The Globe and Mail. 10 October 1995. p. A.8.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the Gander By-Election on October 10, 1995" (PDF). Elections Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  4. ↑ Mitchell, Wayne. "Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the General Election for the Forty-Third General Assembly February 22, 1996" (PDF). Elections Newfoundland and Labrador. p. 40. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  5. ↑ "Crummell takes Tory race in St. John's West". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  6. ↑ "Plenty of new faces heading to Confederation Building". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  7. ↑ "Premier Appoints Parliamentary Assistant, Parliamentary Secretaries". Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  8. ↑ "PC MHA retracts call for Penashue to step down". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  9. ↑ Woods, Michael (14 March 2013). "Tory minister Peter Penashue resigns over election irregularities; will run in byelection". National Post. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  10. ↑ Antle, Rob (13 May 2013). "Liberals take Labrador, as Jones wins big over Penashue". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  11. ↑ Bailey, Sue (9 October 2013). "Newfoundland Premier refreshes cabinet after rough first half of four-year term". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 13 October 2013.

External links