Loyola Sullivan served as Canada's

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation from 2007 until 2011 and is a former Member of the House of Assembly

Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly

The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is one of two components of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, the other being the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Newfoundland and Labrador General Assembly meets in the Confederation Building at St...

 in Newfoundland and Labrador. Sullivan represented the district of Ferryland

Ferryland (electoral district)

Ferryland is a provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As of 2011, there are 8,571 eligible voters living within the district....

 from 1992 till 2006.

Sullivan was Leader of the Official Opposition between 1996 and 1998. When the Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

For pre-1949 Conservative parties see Conservative parties in Newfoundland The Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a centre-right provincial political party in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Originally founded in 1949 the party has formed the Government of...

 (PC) Party came to power in 2003 he was appointed by Premier Danny Williams

Danny Williams (politician)

Daniel E. "Danny" Williams, QC, MHA is a Canadian politician, businessman and lawyer who served as the ninth Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador between November 6, 2003, and December 3, 2010. Williams was born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador...

 as the Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board and later as the Government House Leader.

Early life and education

Loyola Sullivan was born on April 3, 1949 in Calvert, Newfoundland and Labrador on the Southern Shore of the island of Newfoundland. Sullivan is the son of a fisherman and one of 12 children, who learned from an early age the importance of hard work; he started working summers in the local fish plant when he was 13 years old. He received his primary and elementary education in Calvert and attended high school in Ferryland where he graduated with honours at the top of his class. Sullivan attended Memorial University of Newfoundland

Memorial University of Newfoundland

Memorial University of Newfoundland, is a comprehensive university located primarily in St...

 (MUN) where he obtained Bachelor of Science degree in 1971 and Bachelor of Education degree in 1974.

Family and career

He is married to Verna Walsh of Fermeuse and together they have three children, Julie, Shelley and Stefan and three grandchildren. Sullivan became a high school biology, math and chemistry teacher, at Baltimore High School in Ferryland and was an owner and operator of two fish-processing operations as well as several other small businesses.

Volunteer work

Sullivan served as the Mayor of Fermeuse from 1979 to 1982 and was the President of the Southern Shore Arena Association from 1988 to 1991. Sullivan was also the Southern Shore Recreation Director, the coach of 12 provincial high school championships in cross-country, wrestling and hockey, as well as coaching the Newfoundland and Labrador junior wrestling team in the 1972 Canadian championship and Olympic trials.

Sullivan was a long-time member of the Kinsmen Club of Canada, rising to serve as National President of the organization in 1986. He served on a wide-variety of community committees and boards including the Regional Arena Association, the Southern Shore Athletic Association, the Regional Oil and Gas Impact Committee, and the Committee for Primary Health Care -A Nursing Model, for which he was recognized with the Canada Volunteer Award of Merit.

In opposition

Sullivan was first elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador legislature in a 1992 by-election and was subsequently re-elected in the next four general elections. From 1996 to 1998, he served as Leader of the Official Opposition and interim leader of the Progressivce Conservatives, taking over for Lynn Verge

Lynn Verge

Lynn Verge is a former Canadian lawyer and politician in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. She represented the Corner Brook electoral district of Humber East in the Newfoundland House of Assembly from 1979 to 1996...

 who had lost her seat in the 1996 general election

Newfoundland general election, 1996

The 44th Newfoundland general election was held on February 22, 1996 to elect members of the 43rd General Assembly of Newfoundland, the 15th general election for the province of Newfoundland, Canada. It was won by the Liberal Party...

. Sullivan did not lead the PC Party through an election campaign and was replaced as leader by Ed Byrne

Ed Byrne (politician)

Ed Byrne was a Canadian politician, formerly a member of the House of Assembly of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. He served as leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador Progressive Conservatives and opposition leader from 1998 to 2001...

 in 1998. During his time in Opposition he also served as Party Whip, Deputy House Leader, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, and critic for Health, Education, Finance and Treasury Board.

In government

When the Progressive Conservatives formered the government after the 2003 general election

Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2003

The 46th Newfoundland and Labrador general election was held on October 21, 2003, to elect the 48 members of the 45th General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, the 17th general election for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada...

 Sullivan was appointed Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board. In that role, he led the negotiations for the 2005 Atlantic Accord and successfully secured the $2 billion agreement for the province. In 2006 he also took on the responsibility as Government House Leader, he served in both these roles till he retired from provincial politics in December 2006. The next month on January 25, 2007, Sullivan was appointed by the federal Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Fisheries and Oceans as Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation by the Government of Canada. Sullivan spent the four years furthering Canada's position on global fishery issues meeting with foreign fisheries ministers, ambassadors, foreign government and industry representatives to advance Canada's international fisheries agenda.

Federal politics

Sullivan announced on March 29, 2011, that he had resigned his post as Canada's Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation in order to seek the Conservative Party of Canada

Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

 nomination in the riding of St. John's South-Mount Pearl for the 2011 federal election. On May 2, Sullivan placed third receiving 8,576 votes.

Electoral history

|-

|Progressive Conservative
|Loyola Sullivan
|align="right"|5182
|align="right"|86.28%
|align="right"|
|-

|Liberal
|Andrea Kavanagh
|align="right"|504
|align="right"|8.39%
|align="right"|

|NDP
|Lois Martin
|align="right"|309
|align="right"|5.14%
|align="right"|

|Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

|Pilar Riego-Hickey
|align="right"|11
|align="right"|0.18%
|align="right"|
|}
|-

|Progressive Conservative
|L Sullivan
|align="right"|4482
|align="right"|66.20%
|align="right"|
|-

|Liberal
|H Mullowney
|align="right"|2141
|align="right"|31.62%
|align="right"|

|NDP
|G Ryan
|align="right"|147
|align="right"|2.17%
|align="right"|
|}
|-

|Progressive Conservative
|L Sullivan
|align="right"|4834
|align="right"|68.36%
|align="right"|
|-

|Liberal
|T Best
|align="right"|2237
|align="right"|31.63%
|align="right"|
|}
|-

|Progressive Conservative
|L Sullivan
|align="right"|3675
|align="right"|74.00%
|align="right"|
|-

|Liberal
|MC O'Brien
|align="right"|1125
|align="right"|22.65%
|align="right"|

|NDP
|V Silk
|align="right"|166
|align="right"|0.32%
|align="right"|
|}

External links

• Loyola Sullivan - Canada's Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation biography