Byelection date set for Baie Verte–Green Bay after resignation of former cabinet minister
Voters will be heading to the polls in Baie Verte-Green Bay on May 27, in what will be a critical test for the provincial Liberals after splitting the last two byelections with the Progressive Conservatives.
Elections Newfoundland and Labrador formally dropped the writ on Sunday evening, kicking off a race that will see both of the province's leading parties duke it out for a coveted seat in rural Newfoundland.
Owen Burt has been confirmed as the candidate for the Liberals, while Lin Paddock will be running for the PCs. Any other candidates have until May 6 to be nominated.
Advanced polling will take place on May 21.
Burt is an insurance agent and financial advisor from Kings Point. Paddock, from Roberts Arm, was a commander in the Canadian Forces and ran in the last election against then-Education Minister Brian Warr.
Warr took the 2021 election by a narrow margin, edging out Paddock with 52 per cent of the vote. He resigned on March 1, heading back to the building supplies industry to finish out his working career.
This is the third byelection since January, filling gaps left by the resignations of Warr and former PC leader David Brazil, as well as the death of Liberal cabinet minister Derrick Bragg.
The Liberals won the first one, with Fred Hutton taking the seat for Conception Bay East-Bell Island. The PCs had a strong showing in Fogo Island-Cape Freels, with candidate Jim McKenna taking nearly 58 per cent of the vote there.
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