Earle McCurdy (born 1950) is a former 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 ...

and a former labour leader in

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. He was president of the

Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union The Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) Union is a trade union in Newfoundland and Labrador that represents 15,000 workers. Most of the members are in the fishing industry but the FFAW also has organized workers in the hotel, hospitality, brewin ...

from 1993 to 2014, succeeding founding president

Richard Cashin Richard Joseph Cashin, (born January 5, 1937 in St. John's, Newfoundland) is a lawyer, former Canadian politician and trade union leader. The grandson of Sir Michael Cashin, KBE and nephew of Peter Cashin, Richard Cashin is a member of a ...

. Previously, McCurdy was the union's secretary-treasurer for 13 years, from 1980 to 1993.

Background

McCurdy was born in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

in 1950, and grew up in St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

where he attended

Prince of Wales Collegiate Prince of Wales Collegiate is a public high school located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It served part of St. John's as well as the rural community of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's. The school was erected in 1959. At that time ...

. He is a graduate of

Memorial University of Newfoundland 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 ...

, where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1972, and worked as a reporter for '' The St. John's Evening Telegram'' in the 1970s, covering the labour beat, before becoming involved with the fisheries' union. His most notable time as union president was during

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's fishing dispute with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, known as the

Turbot War The Turbot War (known in Spain as Guerra del Fletán; french: Guerre du flétan) was an international fishing dispute and bloodless conflict between Canada and Spain and their respective supporters. On 9 March 1995, Canadian officials from the ...

NDP Leader

McCurdy was elected leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador NDP at the party's leadership convention held March 7, 2015, defeating two other contenders with 68% support on the first ballot. In the 2015 provincial election, McCurdy failed to win a seat in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

and was defeated by

Siobhán Coady Siobhán Coady (; born November 11, 1960) is a Canadian businesswoman and politician who represents the riding of St. John's West in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly as a Liberal. Coady previously served as the Liberal Member of Pa ...

by nearly 1000 votes."Full list of winners in Newfoundland and Labrador election"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

, November 30, 2015. In 2017, McCurdy announced he would resign as NDP leader. His resignation came after Steve Kent announced he would resign his seat of

Mount Pearl North Mount Pearl North, formerly known as Waterford Valley, is a provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As of 2011, there are 9,622 eligible voters living within the district. This suburban distr ...

where McCurdy resided but which was unlikely to be winnable for the NDP.

Electoral record

References

External links

*http://www.ffaw.nf.ca/?Content=About_Us/History *
Book Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCurdy, Earle Leaders of the Newfoundland and Labrador NDP/CCF Trade unionists from Newfoundland and Labrador Living people 1950 births Memorial University of Newfoundland alumni People from Halifax, Nova Scotia Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Candidates in Newfoundland and Labrador provincial elections