Andy Savoy (born July 12, 1963) 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 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

Early life

Savoy was raised in Victoria County in the Perth-Andover, New Brunswick area and educated at the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public un ...

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

where he earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

as well as a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accou ...

Entrance to politics

Elected to the Perth-Andover village council in 1989, he represented the village on the Grand Falls Regional Economic Development Commission before resigning in 1991, when he moved to Fredericton to work for the Research and Productivity Council. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, Savoy ran for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

in the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

-minded riding Tobique—Mactaquac for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

. Savoy defeated the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-el ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP), Progressive Conservative Gilles Bernier by only 150 votes. His share of the vote was only 34%, compared to 33% for Bernier and 29% for

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed u ...

candidate

Adam Richardson Adam Scott Richardson (born 20 August 1974) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide Bloods, West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and Adelaide Football Club, Adelaide in the Australi ...

—the smallest

plurality Plurality may refer to: Voting * Plurality (voting), or relative majority, when a given candidate receives more votes than any other but still fewer than half of the total ** Plurality voting, system in which each voter votes for one candidate and ...

of any successful candidate in that election. After his first election, he became the first MP from Atlantic Canada to be elected chair of the Rural

Caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

of the Liberal Party. On February 4, 2004, he was elected

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...

of the National Liberal Caucus, the first Atlantic Canadian to hold the post since

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 ...

in the 1980s. Despite his success in his first term in office, pundits suggested that Savoy faced a tough battle for re-election especially with the creation of the new

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...

out of the old Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parties whose combined vote in 2000 was 63%. This was not the case as Savoy was re-elected by a margin of 3,008 votes, beating the Conservative candidate Mike Allen 48% to 39%. However, in the

2006 election The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican presidential ...

his luck did not continue, his party lost the election nationally and he too was defeated by Allen by a margin of 254 votes. Provincial Liberal leader

Shawn Graham Shawn Michael Graham (born February 22, 1968) is a Canadian politician, who served as the 31st premier of New Brunswick from 2006 to 2010. He was elected leader of the New Brunswick Liberal Party in 2002 and became premier after his party captur ...

made comments in the press immediately following Savoy's federal defeat stating that he would be very excited to have Savoy stand under his banner for election to the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an ...

in the next provincial election, however Savoy did not offer as a candidate. He supported

Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...

's bid for the Liberal leadership in 2006

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savoy, Andy 1963 births Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick People from Perth-Andover 21st-century Canadian politicians