Gerry Byrne (politician)
Canadian politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gerry Byrne, MHA, PC (born September 27, 1966) is a Canadian politician who was a Liberal Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2015 representing Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, Newfoundland and Labrador, and a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien. He holds the record as the youngest federal Cabinet Minister to be appointed from Newfoundland and Labrador, being sworn in at 35.[1] From 2015 to 2025, he served as MHA for Corner Brook. Byrne served in provincial cabinet during the Ball, Furey, and Hogan governments.
Education
Byrne received a Bachelor of Science in environmental science from Dalhousie University.[citation needed]
Federal politics
Byrne was a Member of Parliament from 1996-2015 when he won a by-election in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador to succeed Brian Tobin. Tobin resigned to run in the 1996 Newfoundland provincial election for Premier. He was re-elected in the 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2011 elections.[2][3] In the 2006 election he had one of the highest margins of victory in Atlantic Canada. Byrne did not stand in the 2015 election and retired from parliament.[4]
In the Liberal Party's 2006 leadership election, he started out supporting Maurizio Bevilacqua, after Bevilacqua drop out he supported Michael Ignatieff.[5] Ignatieff placed second in the race to winner Stéphane Dion. Ignatieff became Leader of the Liberal Party two years later, and was again supported by Byrne.[6]
In the Liberal Party's 2013 leadership election, Byrne supported Montreal MP Justin Trudeau.[7]
Committees
Byrne served on seventeen committees during his federal tenure. He sat as a member of the Standing Committee of Transport, Agriculture and Agrifood, Natural Resources and Government Operations, Industry, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, as Vice-Chair of Public Accounts, Transport and Government Operations, Health, Library of Parliament, Fisheries and Oceans, Industry Science and Technology, Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and as Vice-Chair of Government Operations and Estimates.[8]
Byrne also served on the Special Joint Committee to amend Section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867 concerning the Quebec School System, as Co-Chair of Special Joint Committee on the Amendment to Term 17 of the Terms of Union of Newfoundland, as well as Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.[8]
Parliamentary Secretary
Byrne served as Parliamentary Secretary for multiple ministries in the governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources(1997-1999), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health (2002-2004), and as Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs(2004-2005).[8]
Cabinet minister
He was Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency from 2002 to 2003. When Paul Martin became Prime Minister in 2003, Byrne was not assigned back to his former Cabinet post and was succeeded by Joe McGuire.[8][9]
Comments on PETA pie incident
On January 25, 2010, Fisheries Minister, Gail Shea was pied while giving a speech at the Canada Centre for Inland Waters. An American PETA activist, Emily McCoy, was later arrested in Burlington, charged with assault in connection with the incident. PETA has taken public responsibility for the incident, saying that it was part of a broader campaign against the Canadian Government's support of the seal hunt.[10]
In response to the pieing of the Fisheries Minister, Byrne denounced the attack on the minister as an act of terrorism.[11] He commented on the 26th, "When someone actually coaches or conducts criminal behaviour to impose a political agenda on each and every other citizen of Canada, that does seem to me to meet the test of a terrorist organization."[12] Byrne continued to say, "I am calling on the Government of Canada to actually investigate whether or not this organization, PETA, is acting as a terrorist organization under the test that exists under Canadian law."[13] In response to his interpretation of Canadian law, PETA president Ingrid Newkirk said Byrne's reaction was "a silly, chest-beating exercise."
Provincial politics
In the provincial Liberal Party's 2013 leadership race, it was widely speculated that Byrne would enter the race.[14] Byrne later decided not to run and supported Humber Valley MHA Dwight Ball.[15] Byrne retired from federal politics at the 2015 election in order to run successfully provincially later that year becoming MHA for Corner Brook. Byrne was re-elected in the 2019 provincial election.[16][17] Byrne was re-elected in the 2021 provincial election.[18]
During the Provincial Liberal Party's 2025 leadership race it was again speculated that Byrne would enter the race as a front-runner.[19][20] He later endorsed Windsor Lake MHA John Hogan.[21]
On July 17, 2025, Byrne announced that he would not seek re-election.[22]
Cabinet minister (Provincial)
Following the Ball Liberals forming government in the 2015 election, he was appointed Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.[23] He subsequently served as Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources following a 2017 cabinet shuffle.[24][25]
On August 19, 2020, he was appointed Minister of Immigration, Skills and Labour in the Furey government.[26][27] On July 19, 2024, he was appointed as Minister of Fisheries, Forestry, and Agriculture and Minister Responsible for the Public Procurement Agency.[28]
On May 9, 2025 Byrne was appointed Minister of Jobs, Immigration and Growth in the John Hogan government.[29]
Electoral record
Provincial
| 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador general election: Corner Brook | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Gerry Byrne | 2,593 | 66.54 | +17.69 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Tom Stewart | 1,304 | 33.46 | -0.27 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 3,897 | 98.58 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 56 | 1.42 | ||||||
| Turnout | 3,953 | 38.44 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 10,284 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +8.98 | ||||||
Source(s)
"Officially Nominated Candidates General Election 2021" (PDF). Elections Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved 3 March 2021. "NL Election 2021 (Unofficial Results)". Retrieved 27 March 2021. | ||||||||
| 2019 Newfoundland and Labrador general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Gerry Byrne | 2,436 | 48.8 | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Tom Stewart | 1,682 | 33.7 | |||||
| New Democratic | Mary B. Feltham | 733 | 14.7 | |||||
| Independent | Wayne Bennett | 136 | 2.7 | |||||
| Total valid votes | ||||||||
| 2015 Newfoundland and Labrador general election: Corner Brook | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | Gerry Byrne | 3,121 | 66.67 | |||||
| New Democratic | Holly Pike | 781 | 16.68 | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Neville Wheaton | 779 | 16.65 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 4,681 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Turnout | 45.03 | |||||||
| Eligible voters | 10,397 | |||||||
Federal
| 2011 Canadian federal election: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Gerry Byrne | 17,119 | 57.04 | −10.88 | ||||
| Conservative | Trevor Taylor | 7,559 | 25.18 | +14.56 | ||||
| New Democratic | Shelley Senior | 4,751 | 15.83 | −1.97 | ||||
| Independent | Wayne Ronald Bennett | 332 | 1.11 | −2.55 | ||||
| Green | Robin Gosse | 253 | 0.84 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 30,014 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 97 | 0.32 | −0.25 | |||||
| Turnout | 30,111 | 50.91 | +6.64 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 59,149 | – | – | |||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -12.72 | ||||||
| 2008 Canadian federal election: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Gerry Byrne | 17,943 | 67.92 | +15.02 | $36,525 | |||
| New Democratic | Mark Kennedy | 4,703 | 17.80 | +2.90 | $2,495 | |||
| Conservative | Lorne Robinson | 2,806 | 10.62 | −20.54 | $11,451 | |||
| Newfoundland and Labrador First | Wayne Ronald Bennett | 967 | 3.66 | – | $3,719 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 26,419 | 100.00 | $90,812 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 150 | 0.57 | −0.01 | |||||
| Turnout | 26,472 | 44.27 | −10.3 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 59,797 | – | – | |||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +17.78 | ||||||
| 2006 Canadian federal election: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Gerry Byrne | 17,208 | 52.90 | -9.66 | $52,162 | |||
| Conservative | Cyril Pelley, Jr. | 10,137 | 31.16 | +8.21 | $41,467 | |||
| New Democratic | Holly Pike | 4,847 | 14.90 | +1.76 | $5,133 | |||
| Green | Martin Hanzalek | 339 | 1.04 | −0.31 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 32,531 | 100.00 | $84,468 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 191 | 0.58 | +0.13 | |||||
| Turnout | 32,722 | 54.6 | +6.8 | |||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −8.94 | ||||||
| 2004 Canadian federal election: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Gerry Byrne | 17,820 | 62.56 | +13.77 | $61,737 | |||
| Conservative | Wynanne Downer | 6,538 | 22.95 | −2.41 | $49,410 | |||
| New Democratic | Holly Pike | 3,743 | 13.14 | −12.68 | $5,878 | |||
| Green | Steve Durant | 384 | 1.35 | – | $178 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 28,485 | 100.00 | $82,511 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 128 | 0.45 | ||||||
| Turnout | 28,613 | 47.77 | ||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +8.09 | ||||||
| Change from 2000 is based on redistributed results. Conservative Party change is based on the combination of Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party totals. | ||||||||
| 2000 Canadian federal election: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Gerry Byrne | 15,446 | 48.79 | +8.95 | ||||
| New Democratic | Trevor Taylor | 8,173 | 25.82 | +11.22 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Peter McBreairty | 6,340 | 20.03 | −19.03 | ||||
| Alliance | Murdock Cole | 1,698 | 5.33 | −1.17 | ||||
| Total votes | 31,657 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 117 | 0.37 | ||||||
| Turnout | 31,774 | 57.99 | ||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +7.00 | ||||||
| Canadian Alliance changes from 1997 are based on the results of its predecessor, the Reform Party. | ||||||||
| 1997 Canadian federal election: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Gerry Byrne | 12,057 | 39.84 | −15.85 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Art Bull | 11,825 | 39.06 | +15.56 | ||||
| New Democratic | Joan Scott | 4,421 | 14.60 | +12.13 | ||||
| Reform | Randy Wells | 1,969 | 6.50 | −11.84 | ||||
| Total votes | 30,272 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 129 | 0.42 | ||||||
| Turnout | 30,401 | 54.93 | ||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −15.71 | ||||||
| Canadian federal by-election, March 25, 1996: Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Gerry Byrne | 12,453 | 55.69 | −26.49 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Danny Kane | 5,253 | 23.50 | +8.12 | ||||
| Reform | Deon Hancock | 4,099 | 18.34 | – | ||||
| New Democratic | Coleen Dingwell-Corbin | 554 | 2.47 | +0.03 | ||||
| Total votes | 22,359 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −17.31 | ||||||
| By-election due to the resignation of Brian Tobin, January 25, 1996 | ||||||||