Kevin Aylward (born August 24, 1960) 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 ...

businessman and former politician 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 ...

, Canada. He has served as leader of the

Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador The Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a political party in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The party is the provincial branch, and affiliate of the federal Liberal Party of Canada. It has served as the Government o ...

from August 14, 2011 until January 3, 2012. Aylward was first elected to 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 the 1985 election and served as a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

in the governments of Clyde Wells,

Brian Tobin Brian Vincent Tobin (born October 21, 1954) is a Canadian businessman and former politician. Tobin served as the sixth premier of Newfoundland from 1996 to 2000. Tobin was also a prominent Member of Parliament and served as a cabinet minister i ...

Beaton Tulk Beaton Tulk (May 22, 1944 – May 23, 2019) was a Canadian educator, civil servant and politician. He served as the seventh premier of Newfoundland from 2000 to 2001 as a member of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. Early life Born ...

and

Roger Grimes Roger D. Grimes (born May 2, 1950) is a Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador. Grimes was born and raised in the central Newfoundland town of Grand Falls-Windsor. Grimes is a former leader of the province's Liberal Party and was its ...

. Aylward did not seek re-election in the 2003 election. Upon the resignation of Liberal leader

Yvonne Jones Yvonne Jean Jones (born March 15, 1968) is a Canadian politician in Newfoundland and Labrador, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on May 13, 2013. She represents the district of Labrador as a member of the Liberal ...

on August 9, 2011, 62 days before the provincial election, Aylward ran in the leadership race to succeed her. Five days after Jones' resignation Aylward was chosen as party leader in a field of seven candidates. On October 26, 2011, he resigned as leader after failing to win the district of St. George's-Stephenville East in the 2011 provincial election. Aylward is a member of the

Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation Band The Qalipu First Nation (Pronounced: ha-lee-boo, meaning: Caribou), is a Mi’kmaq band government, created by order-in-council in 2011 pursuant to the Agreement for the Recognition of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq Band. After the band was approved as a ...

Political career

Born in 1960 in Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland and Labrador, Aylward was 24 years old when first elected as a Member of the House of Assembly (MHA) in the 1985 provincial election. He held several cabinet portfolios in the 1990s and early 2000s, including Environment and Labour, Forest Resources and Agrifoods, Tourism, Culture and Recreation, and Environment. Aylward did not seek re-election in the 2003 provincial election.

Environment Minister

Aylward held the Environment portfolio and four other portfolios . He was sworn into cabinet in 1994 as Minister of the Environment in the Clyde Wells government, and in 1996 Premier Brian Tobin appointed him the Minister of Environment and Labour. After holding several other portfolios between 1997 and 2002, he was once again sworn in as Environment Minister under Premier Roger Grimes.

Leader

On August 12, 2011, Aylward announced his bid for the leadership of Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. On August 14, the executives of the party chose Aylward as leader of the party, over six other candidates, citing his experience as a former MHA and cabinet minister as a key reason for selecting him. In the October election the Progressive Conservatives won their third straight majority. While the Liberals managed to remain the Official Opposition, they placed third in the popular vote winning only 19.1 per cent. On October 26, 2011, Aylward announced his resignation as leader after failing to win the district of St. George's-Stephenville East.

Attempted comeback

In 2021, Aylward unsuccessfully ran in

Stephenville-Port au Port Stephenville-Port au Port 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. ...

as the Liberal candidate for the 2021 provincial election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aylward, Kevin 1960 births Living people 20th-century Canadian legislators 21st-century Canadian legislators 20th-century First Nations people 21st-century First Nations people Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs Mi'kmaq people