Nicholas Julian Whalen (born June 6, 1973) 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 ...

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 ...

politician, who represented the riding of St. John's East in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 until 2019. Whalen was defeated in the 2019 federal election by former New Democratic MP

Jack Harris Jack Harris may refer to: Entertainment * Jack Harris (film editor) (1905–1971), English film editor * Jack H. Harris (1918–2017), American film producer * Jack Harris (broadcaster) (born 1941), American radio personality based in Tampa, Flor ...

in a rematch of the 2015 election.

Early life and career

Whalen's father, Norman Whalen, was president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party in the 1980s, and managed Clyde Wells' 1989 election victory. He attended Queen's University's engineering school, earning both undergraduate and graduate degrees in the field. He then earned an LLB degree in 2001 from the

McGill University Faculty of Law The Faculty of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest law school in Canada, and continually ranks among the best law schools in the world. The faculty is known for it ...

. Whalen practised law at the law firm

McInnes Cooper McInnes Cooper is a full-service Canadian law firm with nearly 200 lawyers. It is centrally located in Atlantic Canada, with offices in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. As a multi-service firm, McIn ...

, specializing in energy law, intellectual property, and corporate and commercial law. He was also, at the time of his election, the only qualified patent agent, and worked with a number of charitable organizations. He had previously served as the local Liberal Party treasurer.

Federal politics

Whalen's election in St. John's East over the popular NDP incumbent,

, was considered one of the biggest surprises of the 2015 federal election. In October 2016, Whalen responded to comments over Twitter by

Earle McCurdy Earle McCurdy (born 1950) is a former leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party and a former labour leader in Newfoundland and Labrador. He was president of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union from 1993 to 2014, succeeding fo ...

about the protests opposing 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 Sta ...

over concerns of methylmercury being spilled into

Lake Melville Lake Melville is an estuary of Hamilton Inlet (itself an extension of Groswater Bay) on the Labrador coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Comprising and stretching inland to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, it forms part of th ...

. Whalen responded by tweeting that the methylmercury levels should be monitored and people should compensate when levels are high by eating less fish. Whalen later issued an apology for that comment. Whalen was defeated in the 2019 federal election.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whalen, Nick Living people Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador Lawyers in Newfoundland and Labrador Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Queen's University at Kingston alumni Intellectual property lawyers Patent attorneys Canadian engineers 1973 births 21st-century Canadian politicians McGill University Faculty of Law alumni