Dale Kirby

Dale Kirby MHA (born May 19, 1971) is a Canadian politician and university professor, who was first elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly in the 2011 provincial election.^[1]

First elected in 2011 to represent the electoral district of St. John's North as a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party, Kirby left the NDP caucus after a high-profile, public dispute with NDP leader Lorraine Michael,^[2] and later joined the Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party. He was reelected in the 2015 provincial election as a Liberal in the new district of Mount Scio.

He currently serves as Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development in the Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Early life

Kirby was born in St. Lawrence on the Burin Peninsula. He was raised on a small farm in Lord's Cove where generations of his family have worked in inshore fishing industries. Kirby began working at an early age at Kirby's Store, later Kirby's Kwik-Way, a family-run grocery and convenience store. He graduated from St. Joseph's Academy in 1989.

University studies and student activism

Kirby earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Education degrees from Memorial University of Newfoundland before completing a doctorate in higher education theory and policy studies at the University of Toronto. While at university, he held a number of elected student union positions at the local, provincial, and national levels. As chairperson of the Newfoundland and Labrador component of the Canadian Federation of Students in the 1990s, Kirby led a successful campaign to freeze college and university tuition fees in Newfoundland and Labrador.^[3]

Academic career and honours

In 2006, Kirby was appointed an assistant professor of post-secondary education studies in the Faculty of Education at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He was promoted to the position of associate professor in 2011. Prior to joining Memorial University, he worked as a senior advisor on education policy in the Ontario Public Service.^[4]

Kirby is a professor, researcher, and consultant on student access and participation in college and university and in the area of online learning.^[5] In recognition of his contributions and advocacy, the Canadian Council on Learning named him a Minerva Scholar in 2007.^[6] In 2011, he received the R. W. B. Jackson Award from the Canadian Educational Researchers Association as well the Best Research Paper Award at the 2011 European Distance and E-Learning Network Annual Conference.^[7][8]

Swearing-in ceremony

Kirby was sworn at Government House as Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development by Lieutenant Governor Frank Fagan on December 14, 2015.

Academic status

Kirby is on a full leave of absence from his position as associate professor of education at Memorial University of Newfoundland.^[9]

Electoral history

References

Current members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly Liberal Ball C. Bennett D. Bennett Bragg Browne Byrne Coady Crocker B. Davis Dean Dempster Edmunds Finn Gambin-Walsh Haggie Haley Hawkins Holloway Joyce King Kirby Lane Letto Mitchelmore Osborne Parsley A. Parsons P. Parsons Reid Trimper Warr Progressive Conservative P. Davis Brazil Hutchings Kent K. Parsons Perry Petten New Democrat Michael Rogers