Alison Coffin (born 1970) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician, who was formerly the leader of the

Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party The Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party (NL NDP) is a social democratic political party in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in 1961 as the successor to the ...

(NL NDP). She is a former member of the

Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is the Unicameralism, unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Build ...

. In her professional life, she has developed policy and strategic plans for the provincial government, taught at

Memorial University Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...

, and consulted on public policy, pension plans, and the provincial budget. For several years, she also ran a successful consulting company.

Background

Coffin was born in

Corner Brook Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

and was raised in Joe Batt's Arm along with two brothers. She graduated from Memorial University with an economics degree in 1993 and later completed her master's degree at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, graduating in 1997. She splits her time between St. John's,

Brigus Brigus is a small fishing community located in Conception Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Brigus was home to Captain Bob Bartlett and the location of his residence Hawthorne Cottage.Canada travel guide. Lonely Planet 14th Edition (2020) ...

, and

Spaniard's Bay Spaniard's Bay is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the northwest side of Conception Bay and consists of Vokey's Shore, Northern Cove, Mint Cove, Green Head, and Goddenville. The name Spaniard's Bay c ...

with her partner Ian Coombs. Professionally, Coffin is an economist and university professor. Her most recent professional publication, "Taking Politics out of Governance", included in ''The Democracy Cookbook'' outlines straightforward suggestions for better provincial budgeting, spending, and planning.

Politics

Coffin ran for the NL NDP in the 2015 provincial election in

Waterford Valley Waterford Valley is a provincial electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, which is represented by one member in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. It was contested for the first time in the 2015 provincial election. It wa ...

. She ran for the provincial party leadership election in April 2018, losing to MHA

Gerry Rogers Gerry Rogers (born 1956) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker and politician. She was leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party from 2018 until 2019. She served in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly as NDP MHA for ...

. After Rogers resigned, Coffin was elected leader unopposed in March 2019. She was confirmed as the party's new leader at a news conference on March 5, 2019. Coffin is a former associate president of the provincial party. Coffin led the party into the 2019 provincial election; despite only nominating 14 candidates (out of a possible 40) the party won 3 seats. Coffin won St. John's East-Quidi Vidi holding it for the NDP, while the party led St. John's Centre, and won an upset in

Labrador West Labrador West (2013 pop.: 10,319) refers to a region in western Labrador in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador containing the twin towns of Labrador City and Wabush. The area is located in the southwest corner of Labrador, near the ...

. Coffin led the party into the 2021 provincial election. She was personally defeated in her district of St. John's East-Quidi Vidi; while the party held St. John's Centre and Labrador West. Coffin filed for a recount. On May 12, 2021, Supreme Court Justice Donald Burrage rejected Coffin's bid for a recount, arguing that there was not sufficient evidence. On October 16, 2021, Coffin lost a

leadership review In Canadian politics, a leadership review is a vote held at a political party convention in which delegates decide whether to endorse the incumbent party leader or schedule a leadership convention to elect a new leader. In most parties at present, ...

by party members. She later chose to resign on October 19 and was replaced by MHA

Jim Dinn James Gerard Dinn is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly in the 2019 provincial election. He represents the electoral district of St. John's Centre as a member of the Newfoundland and Labra ...

as interim leader."Alison Coffin steps down as leader of Newfoundland and Labrador's New Democrats"

CTV Atlantic CTV Atlantic (formerly known as the Atlantic Television, or ATV) is a system of four television stations in the Maritimes, owned and operated by the CTV Television Network, a division of Bell Media. Despite the name, it is not available on ba ...

, October 19, 2021.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffin, Alison Leaders of the Newfoundland and Labrador NDP/CCF Newfoundland and Labrador political party leaders Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party MHAs Living people People from Corner Brook Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Female Canadian political party leaders Women MHAs in Newfoundland and Labrador 1970 births