Lela Margaret Ann Evans is a Canadian politician, who was 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 2019 provincial election. She represents the electoral district of

Torngat Mountains The Torngat Mountains are a mountain range on the Labrador Peninsula at the northern tip of Newfoundland and Labrador and eastern Quebec. They are part of the Arctic Cordillera.

as a

New Democrat 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 ...

, having previously been elected as a Progressive Conservative. She was re-elected in the 2021 provincial election. Evans has over 20 years’ experience in the environmental field including environmental assessments, mining and construction.

Biography

Evans was born in

Makkovik Makkovik (Inuit: ''Maggovik'') is a town in Labrador in eastern Canada. It had 365 residents in 2021. The main industry is snow crabbing and there is a fishing cooperative. Makkovik is only accessible by air or sea. History The Makkovik area has ...

, a community in

Nunatsiavut Nunatsiavut (; iu, italics=no, ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕗᑦ) is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous area claimed by the Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The settlement area includes territory in Labrador extending to the Quebe ...

, Labrador and she is of Norwegian and Inuit descent. Evans is the daughter of Annie Evans and niece of feminist activist Ruth Flowers. In 2016, Evans joined protests against the

Lower Churchill Project The Lower Churchill Project is an ongoing hydroelectric project in the Labrador region of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, to develop the remaining 35 per cent of the Churchill River that was not developed by the Churchill Falls Generating Stat ...

despite working for the company developing the project,

Nalcor Energy Nalcor Energy is a provincial energy corporation which is headquartered in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. A provincial Crown corporation under the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nalcor Energy was created in 2007 to manage the p ...

. Evans has also worked as a first-aid instructor and at the

Voisey's Bay Mine Voisey's Bay Mine is a nickel mine in Labrador, Canada, near the bay of the same name. The mine is located about southwest of Nain. Nickel deposit A large nickel deposit was discovered in the hills along the western shore of Potato Isla ...

. Evans has also served as a part of a team conducting community consultations on the

Uranium mining Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50 thousand tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account f ...

moratorium in northern Labrador. Evans is a graduate of the

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 ...

. Evans is openly

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

Politics

In an interview with ''The Independent'', Evans stated that she had to quit her job to run as a candidate in the 2019 election because her employer would not allow her to take a leave of absence. She was nominated as the Progressive Conservative candidate against her cousin and MHA Randy Edmunds. Evans went on to defeat Edmunds in an upset. She considered herself to be "putting the P in PC," meaning that she considers herself to be

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

in her political beliefs. Evans has called for the

Trans-Labrador Highway The Trans-Labrador Highway (TLH) is a highway located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is the primary public road in Labrador. Its total length is . The complete paving of the highway was completed in July 2022. The ...

to be extended to reach communities in the northern part of Labrador. On October 25, 2021, Evans left the PC Party to sit as an Independent in the House of Assembly. On March 7, 2022, Evans joined the NDP.

Election results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Lela Living people Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs Women MHAs in Newfoundland and Labrador 21st-century Canadian women politicians Inuit politicians Lesbian politicians Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party MHAs 21st-century Canadian politicians People from Makkovik Canadian LGBT people in provincial and territorial legislatures Inuit from Newfoundland and Labrador Conservation biologists Independent MHAs in Newfoundland and Labrador Year of birth missing (living people)