David J. Brazil ( ; born September 20, 1963) is a Canadian politician from

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...

. He has represented the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

Conception Bay East - Bell Island Conception commonly refers to: * Concept, an abstract idea or a mental symbol * Conception (biology), the process of becoming pregnant, involving fertilization and implantation of the embryo in the uterus Conception may also refer to: Entertain ...

in the

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

since 2010. He is currently interim Leader of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador The Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a provincial political party in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The party was founded in 1949 and most recently formed the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador from the ...

and interim Leader of the Opposition. Brazil previously served as Opposition Leader in 2018 between the resignation of Paul Davis and the election of Ches Crosbie as MHA.

Political career

In November 2010, Brazil won the nomination to be the

candidate in a by-election for the electoral district of Conception Bay East – Bell Island defeating five other candidates for the nomination. The by-election was being held to replace the late

Dianne Whalen Dianne C. Whalen (May 3, 1951 – October 3, 2010) was a Canadian politician and provincial Cabinet Minister in Newfoundland and Labrador. Early life Whalen was born in Come By Chance, Newfoundland and Labrador, raised in Port Blandford and li ...

who had died a month earlier. The by-election was called for December 2, 2010 with two other candidates running for the

New Democrats New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

and the Liberals. One week before the by-election, on November 25, Premier Danny Williams announced that he would retire from politics on December 3, 2010. With the announcement that the Premier would be resigning it left many wondering if Brazil, who was initially thought to easily hold on to the seat for the Tories, would be able to win now that the party's popular leader was stepping down. However, on December 2, 2010, Brazil defeated both the New Democratic and Liberal Party candidates, winning 66% of the popular vote. The percentage of the vote was consistent with previous by-election wins the PCs had before the announcement that Williams was retiring. Brazil was re-elected with 55% of the vote in the 2011 election. On July 17, 2014, Brazil was appointed to the

Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador The Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador (in French: ''le Conseil exécutif de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador'', but informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Newfoundland and Labrador, and in French: ''le Cabinet de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador'' ...

as Minister of Service NL. When Paul Davis took over as premier in September 2014, he moved Brazil to Minister of Transportation and Works. Brazil was re-elected in the 2015 election, defeating Liberal

Danny Dumaresque Danny Wade Dumaresque (born November 6, 1959) is a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Eagle River in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 1989 to 1996 as a member of the Liberal Party. Dumaresque has been a Direc ...

by almost 1,900 votes. In 2017, Brazil declined to seek the leadership of the PC Party and endorsed Tony Wakeham in the 2018 election, serving as his campaign manager. Following the election of Ches Crosbie as PC leader in April 2018, Paul Davis announced he would resign as Leader of the Opposition. Since Crosbie did not have a seat in the House of Assembly when elected leader, Brazil was appointed the Leader of the Opposition on May 14, 2018. On September 20, 2018 Crosbie won the district of

Windsor Lake Windsor Lake is a provincial electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador. As of 2011 there are 14,187 people living in the district. Windsor Lake includes part of the city of St. John's suburban east end, covering the neighbourhoods of Clo ...

in a by-election, therefore becoming Leader of the Opposition. Brazil was re-elected in the 2019 provincial election. Brazil was re-elected in the 2021 provincial election. PC leader Crosbie was personally defeated in his district of

. The Liberals under Furey won a majority government. On March 31, 2021, Crosbie resigned as leader and Brazil was appointed interim Leader and interim Leader of the Opposition. In 2022, Brazil suffered a major

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

but returned to work a few months later.

Electoral results

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Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, Joy Buckle , align="right", 299 , align="right", 7.51% , align="right", −10.46%

References

External links

David Brazil PC Party Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brazil, David 1963 births Living people Members of the Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs 21st-century Canadian politicians Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador