Len Stirling is a former politician in the Canadian province of

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 was a member of the Newfoundland House of Assembly from 1979 to 1982 and was 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 ...

from 1980 to 1982.

Private life

Stirling is from Corner Brook and has worked as an insurance executive in private life. He served as deputy

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of St. John's before entering provincial politics.

Party president and assembly member

Stirling was president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party in the late 1970s and played a pivotal role in persuading

Donald Jamieson Donald Campbell Jamieson, (April 30, 1921 – November 19, 1986) was a Canadian politician, diplomat and broadcaster. Jamieson was born in St. John's, Newfoundland. His father was a newspaper editor, and his grandfather was a fisherman who ...

to lead the party in the 1979 provincial election. The party's sitting leader,

Bill Rowe William Neil Rowe, (born June 4, 1942) is a former politician, lawyer, broadcaster, and writer in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Rowe was born in Grand Bank and is the son of the late Liberal Senator Frederick William Rowe and the late Edit ...

, had been criticized by a majority of caucus members, and the party had scheduled 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, ...

before the election was called. Rowe voluntarily stepped aside after Jamieson agreed to lead the party. The Liberals lost the election to Brian Peckford's Progressive Conservative Party, although Stirling was personally elected in the

Bonavista North Bonavista North was a provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It existed from when Newfoundland joined confederation in 1949 until 2015. As of 2011 the district had 6,956 eligible voters. Wh ...

division. Jamieson resigned as Liberal Party leader after the election, and Stirling won a landslide victory over Leslie Thoms to become his successor in late 1980.

Party leader

Stirling was leader of the provincial Liberal Party at a time when Canadian

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Pierre Trudeau and Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford were engaged in a jurisdictional dispute over Newfoundland's offshore mineral resources. Stirling agreed with Peckford that the province should own the resources, although he criticized Peckford's approach in battling the federal government. In July 1981, Stirling criticized Peckford for using an

order-in-council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

to increase the salary of cabinet members. Peckford called a snap election for April 1982, making mineral resources the primary election issue. The Liberal campaign focused on employment issues and argued that Peckford's aggressive stance on resources was undermining Newfoundland's negotiating position. Stirling said that he could negotiate a better resource deal with the federal government via a more conciliatory tone and proposed a federal-provincial fund that would allow Newfoundland to purchase failing fishery plants. Peckford's Progressive Conservatives were re-elected with a landslide majority government in the 1982 election, and Stirling was personally defeated in Bonavista North. He resigned as leader in October 1982. An essay on the Newfoundland Liberal Party published in 1992 described Stirling as having a "pleasant, conciliatory personality," but lacking in profile and without "zeal for political power."

After politics

Stirling continued his career as an insurance executive. By the 1990s, he was first vice president and Atlantic regional manager of Johnson's Insurance. He was named to the board of governors of

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro (NL Hydro), commonly known as Hydro, is a provincial Crown corporation that generates and delivers electricity for Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as portions of Quebec and the north-eastern areas of the United ...

in 1999."Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro Board of Directors appointed"
ress release Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, 13 January 1999.

Electoral record

;Leadership contests Source: John Laschinger and Geoffrey Stevens, ''Leaders & Lesser Mortals: Backroom Politics in Canada'', Toronto: Key Porter Books Limited, 1992, p. 258.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, Len Living people Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs Newfoundland and Labrador political party leaders Businesspeople in insurance People from Corner Brook Year of birth missing (living people)