The Newfoundland and Labrador First Party was a Canadian political party registered at both the federal[2] and provincial[3] levels of government in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The party advocated for Newfoundland and Labrador interests.
Newfoundland and Labrador First Party | |
|---|---|
| Former federal party | |
 | |
| Founded | November 5, 2004 (provincial) November 15, 2007 (federal) |
| Dissolved | January 31, 2011[1] |
| Headquarters | 10 Cole Place St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1A 5G6 |
| Ideology | Newfoundland and Labrador regionalism |
| Colours | Green, white, pink |
Election results
edit| Election | # of candidates | # of votes | % of popular vote | % in ridings contested | # of seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 3 | 1801 | 0.01% | 1.75% | 0 |
Federal results
edit| Riding | Province | Candidate | Votes | % | Placement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte | Newfoundland and Labrador | Wayne Ronald Bennett | 967 | 3.7% | 4/4 |
| St. John's East | Newfoundland and Labrador | Les Coultas | 347 | 0.84% | 6/6 |
| St. John's South—Mount Pearl | Newfoundland and Labrador | Greg Byrne | 402 | 1.16% | 5/6 |
Provincial results
edit| Newfoundland and Labrador provincial by-election, February 21, 2006: Placentia—St. Mary’s | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Felix Collins | 2,247 | 46.3 | |||||
| Independent | Nick Careen | 1,641 | 33.8 | |||||
| Liberal | Kevin Power | 931 | 19.2 | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador First | Tom Hickey | 31 | 0.6 | |||||
| Total | 4,850 | |||||||
| By-election called upon the resignation of Fabian Manning | ||||||||
Source(s)
"Results of February 21 by election in Electoral District of Placentia & St. Mary's". Government of Newfoundland and Labrador - Office of the Chief Electoral Officer. February 24, 2006. Retrieved November 18, 2020. | ||||||||
History
editThe provincial party was publicly launched on November 5, 2004, and officially registered in February 2006. It ran in its first election in a February 21, 2006 by-election in the Placentia and St. Mary's electoral district where the party's president Tom Hickey won 31 of 4,862 votes. After the provincial election, the party dissolved itself at the provincial level to focus on the federal platform which it felt was the most productive arena in which to advocate for fairness and equality for the province within Canada.
The federal party, also led by Hickey, became eligible for registration by Elections Canada on November 15, 2007. It gained registered status in September 2008 as it entered three candidates in the 2008 federal election, where it attained 1.75% of the votes in those three districts.
Hickey was the founder of the First Party,[4] which was established as a party in November 2004.[5] Hickey (who ran unsuccessfully for the party in a Placentia—St. Mary's by-election held in 2006, winning only 31 votes[6]) led the party from 2004 until 2008, when he was succeeded as party leader by Wayne Bennett.[4][5]
Deregistration
editThe Party Executive was given official notification by registered letter to the Chief Agent of the party that as of January 31, 2011, the party would cease to exist and would be deregistered by Elections Canada. This deregistration was for failure to comply with the required submission of a minimum of 250 signed Declarations of Membership Forms in the allotted time period given.[7][8]
Wayne Bennett contested the riding of Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte in the 2011 federal election, as an Independent. He received 332 votes, 1.106% of the votes in the riding.[9] Bennett would also go on to unsuccessfully seek the leadership of both the provincial Progressive Conservative and New Democratic parties.[10][11][12][13]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Elections Canada. "Registered Political Parties and Parties Eligible for Registration". Retrieved April 22, 2011.
- ^ "Elections Canada, Registered Political Parties and Parties Eligible for Registration". June 13, 2022.
- ^ "News Release from Chief Electoral Officer regarding Placentia-and-St-Mary by-election".
- ^ a b Dave Bartlett, Wayne Bennett takes over as NL First party leader, The Western Star (October 23, 2008).
- ^ a b Newfoundland and Labrador First Party, Library of Parliament (accessed June 2, 2016).
- ^ "Results of February 21 by election in Electoral District of Placentia & St. Mary's". Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. February 24, 2006.
- ^ "Newfoundland First party facing uncertain future after losing Elections Canada registration". The Western Star. January 12, 2011. Archived from the original on January 15, 2011.
- ^ Deregistration of Newfoundland and Labrador First Party
- ^ "Byrne baby Byrne; Liberal incumbent Gerry Byrne glides to seventh straight election victory". The Western Star. May 3, 2011. Archived from the original on May 4, 2011. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
- ^ "Wayne Bennett says he's ready to lead Conservatives". The Western Star. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ "Wayne Bennett's tweets about Muslims threaten leadership bid". CBC News. March 29, 2014.
- ^ "Wayne Bennett bounced from PC leadership race". CBC News. April 3, 2014.
- ^ "Rejected by NDP, Howley mayor threatens legal action". CBC News. March 5, 2018.