John Abbott resigns from cabinet, announces bid for Liberal leadership and premier
St. John's area MHA John Abbott formally declared his candidacy Tuesday to become the next leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the province's next premier.
With the shadow of a trade war between Canada and the United States weighing heavily in the public's consciousness, Abbott held a low-key news conference in the lobby of Confederation Building, with only a handful of supporters on hand. He said he will launch his campaign in the days ahead.
"I have the passion for this province. I have a passion for good governance. I have a deep knowledge of public policy. I know how to work with people and bring them onside. And I think bringing all that together, I can make a difference in the trajectory of this province going forward," Abbott told reporters.
Abbott resigned Tuesday morning as the minister responsible for housing, mental health and addictions in order to focus on his campaign.
He is the first person to confirm that he will enter the race to succeed Premier Andrew Furey, who shook up the political landscape a week ago when he announced he will leave office after his successor is selected. Furey has been premier for four-and-a-half years, and said he will return to his career as a surgeon.
Several other high-profile Liberals have also indicated they are considering a bid for the leadership, including provincial cabinet ministers John Hogan and Bernard Davis, and outgoing Labrador MP Yvonne Jones.
A new party leader, who will automatically become premier, will be selected May 3 during a convention in St. John's.
Candidates have until March 24 to formally submit their nomination to the leadership committee, along with a $50,000 nomination fee and the signatures of at least 50 supporters from at least 10 of the 40 districts in the province.
A halted bid for federal politics
Abbott is a supporter of Mark Carney, who is a front-runner to become the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the next prime minister, and had planned to seek the federal Liberal nomination in the new riding of Cape Spear.
But Abbott shelved those plans following Furey's unexpected announcement.
Abbott said he wanted to be this province's voice in Ottawa as Canada fights back against President Donald Trump's punishing tariffs, but he quickly recalibrated after Furey's announcement.
"I can best contribute here," he said, referring to his ambition to become the 15th premier.
Abbott is one of 22 Liberal MHAs in the House of Assembly, but none of his elected colleagues joined him for his announcement.
When asked about this, Abbott said he has the support of some MHAs, but did not offer any names.
"We have decided today will be for me to state my case," he said.
Abbott worked a long career as a senior public servant, and in the private sector, before squaring off against Andrew Furey in 2020 for the Liberal leadership.
Furey won the leadership contest, and Abbott later won a narrow victory in St. John's East-Quidi Vidi during the 2021 provincial election. In his four years as a government member, Abbott served in three different cabinet positions, and says he's proven himself each time.
He said Canada is now "at war" economically with the United States, and he is the right person to lead this province.
"The leader that comes out of this race has to be ready on Day 1 to take on this job. I know government. I know this province. I believe I know the people of this province well," he said.
The party has set a spending limit of $200,000 for the candidates, and although the party has not definitively stated that the candidates will have to disclose the source of their contributions, Abbott said he will.
Abbott said he spent $212,000 in the 2020 leadership contest.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Mark Carney's bill to make Canada a ‘superpower' is unveiled
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney's bid to Trump-proof and supercharge the Canadian economy was unveiled on Friday when the Liberal government tabled a bill to create a new process to fast-track 'nation-building' development projects and ease the flow of goods and workers within the country. The proposed 'One Canadian Economy' law opens a five-year window to conditionally approve specially-selected development projects upfront, so they can go through a streamlined process geared toward deciding how — rather than whether — they should get built.
an hour ago
Liberals introduce bill to cut trade barriers, speed up 'nation-building' infrastructure
The Liberal government introduced legislation Friday that it says will eliminate federal barriers to internal trade and detail how nation-building infrastructure projects will be identified and approved more quickly. The One Canadian Economy Act attempts to fulfil campaign promises made by Prime Minister Mark Carney to strengthen Canada's economy and sovereignty in the face of the economic attacks on Canada by the Trump administration. Carney said Friday that it is a bill with two equally important components, designed to create one Canadian economy out of 13. A bill that is laser-focused on building a stronger, more competitive and a more resilient Canadian economy that works for all Canadians. The prime minister said the bill will on, the one hand, speed up the approval process of major infrastructure projects, reducing approval times from five years to two by introducing a one-project, one-review approach instead of having federal and provincial approval processes happen sequentially. And the bill would also provide a boost to internal trade by recognizing provincial standards for goods, services and labour mobility as having met the federal standard. Carney says provinces will have a say over projects: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Carney says he won't force projects on provinces that refuse them 'We will not impose a project on a province,' said Prime Minister Mark Carney when asked if the federal government would force pipelines on provinces that may not want them. He added that the first ministers' meeting demonstrated the provinces are willing to collaborate. Under the legislation, someone who is certified or licensed to perform specific skilled work in a province or territory that wants to take on a job doing the same thing for a federally regulated project will be deemed to have met that federal standard. The government says recognizing provincial standards will open up job opportunities to workers and give employers a larger candidate pool to draw upon. The bill only recognizes provincial standards at the federal level. Workers certified or licensed in one province that want to work in another will only be able to do so when that province or territory agrees to drop their trade barriers. The federal government has rules and standards for businesses on top of regional requirements that apply across provincial and territorial borders. Under the legislation, provincial standards for goods and services will be recognized as having already met federal standards. That means a province's organic standards for food, or energy efficiency standards for appliances, will be treated as having met federal standards. Nation-building projects Canada's a country that used to build big things, Carney said. "But in recent decades it's become too difficult to build in this country. For too long, when federal agencies have evaluated a new project, their immediate question has been why. With this bill, we will instead ask ourselves, how? During the election campaign Carney promised his government would speed up approvals for infrastructure projects identified as being nation-building, without providing a detailed description of what that means or how it would be determined. Friday, the government said a nation-building project would make a significant contribution to Canada's prosperity and advance national security, economic security, defence security and national autonomy through the increased production of energy and goods, and the improved movement of goods, services and people throughout Canada. Examples of such projects include: highways, railways, ports, airports, pipelines, critical minerals, mines, nuclear facilities and electrical transmission projects. Projects that meet the nation-building standard are also measured against five key benchmarks to determine if they will: Strengthen Canada's autonomy, resilience and security. Provide national economic or other benefits. Have a high likelihood of being successful. Advance the interests of Indigenous Peoples. Contribute to Canada's objectives with respect to climate change. Officials speaking on background said these five standards are not a checklist, but rather factors that are considered when evaluating whether a project is nation-building or not. The parties doing the considering, the government said, include provinces, territories and Indigenous rights holders. Once something is declared a nation-building project it is put on a list of approved projects. That list can expand, adding new projects, until the measures in the bill sunset, which happens five years after it is passed. Cutting approval time by 60% Once a project is added to the list, proponents will use the newly formed federal Major Projects Office as their single point of contact instead of having to go through multiple agencies and ministers. The office will help walk proponents through the assessment and permitting process, consulting with provinces and Indigenous Peoples on mitigation and environmental impact measures that would need to be taken. Carney stressed Friday that consulting with Indigenous Peoples throughout the approval stage will be an important part of the process. The Major Projects Office will include an Indigenous Advisory Council of First Nations, Inuit and Métis members to provide advice and direction. Carney also said the legislation will ensure that environmental protections are maintained for these projects. He said the federal and provincial governments would work together to achieve the goal of a single assessment for projects. And the federal government would streamline its own process further by making one cabinet minister, instead of multiple ministers, responsible for authorizing a project in consultation with the prime minister. Peter Zimonjic (new window) · CBC News
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
N.B. Official Opposition accuses premier of ignoring potential for ‘province building project'
Premier Susan Holt says New Brunswick is at the forefront of multiple 'nation building' energy projects following this week's First Ministers' meeting in Saskatoon, while interim Progressive Conservative Leader Glen Savoie says the governing Liberals are ignoring natural resource development within the province. 'She's interested in national building project. How about a province building project?' said Savoie about Holt during Friday's question period. Savoie said the Liberals and Holt have historically stood in the way of natural resource development in New Brunswick, mentioning pipelines and shale gas exploration. Holt responded to Savoie's comments during question period, saying the Progressive Conservatives weren't effective on developing natural resources while in power. 'He's said they always supported this development. But did they get it done? No,' said Holt. 'Our government is pragmatic. We're looking at what's in front of us and what opportunities will benefit New Brunswick.' Holt has heralded federal support for prioritizing the Eastern Energy Partnership as a success from the First Ministers' meeting. The partnership which would transmit hydro and wind power from Atlantic Canada and Quebec to Western Canada and New England. Holt also said there were positive conversations with Quebec Premier François Legault about extending a natural gas pipeline from Quebec City to New Brunswick. 'We have opportunities to take advantage of the resources that Canada has already developed and already unlocked for the benefit of our province as well,' said Holt. 'We're looking at what we can do tomorrow, where's the investment opportunity, what's going to benefit New Brunswickers, and how we can use our strengths to succeed nationally and internationally.' At the First Ministers' meeting, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith indicated she was focused on developing potential oil pipeline routes from her province to northern British Columbia and Hudson Bay to avoid any route through Quebec. Holt said she was interested in what role New Brunswick could play as an eastern market if a pipeline did go to Hudson Bay. 'With a $600-million deficit, you'd think she'd get on board and develop our resources here,' said Savoie, about Holt. 'They would rather pipe a pipeline in because of their NIMBY policies, their 'not in my backyard' policies, that say it's okay for Alberta to profit from its natural resource development but not New Brunswick.' Friday was the last day of the first session of the 61st Legislature. Legislature The New Brunswick legislature is pictured. (Source: Nick Moore/CTV News Atlantic) For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
