Kevin George O'Brien MHA, (born August 25, 1956) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

businessman, pharmacist and politician in

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

, Canada. He served as the province's Minister of Advanced Education and Skills. O'Brien 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 Bu ...

as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) in 2003, representing the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of Gander until his resignation in 2015. He resigned his provincial seat on July 3, 2015 to run federally in the 2015 federal election.

Politics

O'Brien was elected to the

as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party in 2003 representing the district of Gander. He was appointed to

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

in July 2006, becoming the Minister of Business. Following his re-election in 2007, O'Brien was shuffled into the portfolio of Government Services. With the death of fellow Municipal Affairs Minister

Dianne Whalen Dianne Carolynn Whalen (May 3, 1951 – October 3, 2010) was a Canadians, Canadian politician and provincial Cabinet Minister in Newfoundland and Labrador. Early life Whalen was born in Come By Chance, Newfoundland and Labrador, raised in Por ...

in October 2010 O'Brien was shuffled out of the Government Services portfolio and into Municipal Affairs. In September 2013, O'Brien was accused by the Gander Chamber of Commerce of threatening to slow down the construction of a new school in Gander if NDP representatives were allowed to be present at a community breakfast. The Chamber of Commerce also alleged that O'Brien had made similar threats in the past. O'Brien denied the allegations. On October 9, 2013, O'Brien was shuffled to Minister of Advanced Education. In March 2015, O'Brien resigned from cabinet. In July 2015, O'Brien resigned his provincial seat to run for the federal Conservative party in the riding of

Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame Central Newfoundland (formerly Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame) is a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was created from the portions of the island of Newfoundland previously included in the electoral distr ...

in the 2015 federal election. On October 19, 2015, O'Brien was defeated in the federal election by Liberal incumbent Scott Simms.

Electoral record

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Kevin Members of the Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs Living people 1956 births Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Newfoundland and Labrador candidates for Member of Parliament 21st-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly