Gail_Shea
Gail Shea
Canadian politician
Gail A. Shea PC (born April 6, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Egmont from 2008 to 2015. She was previously a member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 2000 to 2007, representing the electoral district of Tignish-DeBlois as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.
Gail A. Shea | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Fisheries and Oceans | |
| In office July 15, 2013 – November 4, 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | Stephen Harper |
| Preceded by | Keith Ashfield |
| Succeeded by | Hunter Tootoo |
| In office October 30, 2008 – May 18, 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Stephen Harper |
| Preceded by | Loyola Hearn |
| Succeeded by | Keith Ashfield |
| Minister of National Revenue | |
| In office May 18, 2011 – July 15, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Keith Ashfield |
| Succeeded by | Kerry-Lynne Findlay |
| Member of Parliament for Egmont | |
| In office October 14, 2008 – August 4, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Joe McGuire |
| Succeeded by | Bobby Morrissey |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island for Tignish-DeBlois | |
| In office April 17, 2000 – May 28, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Bobby Morrissey |
| Succeeded by | Neil LeClair |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1959-04-06) April 6, 1959 (age 65) Tignish, Prince Edward Island |
| Political party | Conservative |
Shea served as the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in the federal cabinet.
Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs
Shea served as Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs from 2000 to 2003, under the second administration of Premier Pat Binns. During this period Shea's responsibilities included the Status of Women in the province, as well as providing oversight on the Workers Compensation Board and the Island Waste Management Corporation.[1]
Minister of Transportation and Public Works
From 2003 to 2007 Shea served as Minister of Transportation and Public Works. In this position, Shea oversaw the implementation of a graduated licensing system in her home province.[2]
Shea stood as the Conservative Party of Canada candidate in the riding of Egmont for the 2008 federal election.[3] On October 14, 2008, she became the first non-Liberal MP from Prince Edward Island in 24 years.[4] On October 30, 2008, Shea was appointed the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.[5] She is only the third female MP from Prince Edward Island, following Margaret Mary Macdonald and Catherine Callbeck.
In the 2011 federal election, Shea was re-elected by a margin of 4500 votes.[6] On May 18, 2011, she was appointed Minister of National Revenue.[7][8] In July 2013, Shea was moved back into the fisheries position.[9] In the 2015 election, Shea was defeated by Liberal Bobby Morrissey.[10][11]
Pie incident
On January 25, 2010, Shea was pied while giving a speech at the Canada Centre for Inland Waters. An American PETA activist, Emily McCoy, was arrested in Burlington in connection with the incident, and charged with assault. PETA has taken public responsibility for the incident, saying that it was part of a broader campaign against the Canadian Government's support of the seal hunt.[12][13]
In response to the pieing of the Fisheries Minister, a long time Liberal MP Gerry Byrne denounced the attack on the minister as an act of terrorism.[14] He commented on the 26th, "When someone actually coaches or conducts criminal behaviour to impose a political agenda on each and every other citizen of Canada, that does seem to me to meet the test of a terrorist organization." Byrne continued to say, "I am calling on the Government of Canada to actually investigate whether or not this organization, PETA, is acting as a terrorist organization under the test that exists under Canadian law." In response to his interpretation of Canadian law, PETA president Ingrid Newkirk said Byrne's reaction was "a silly, chest-beating exercise."[15]
When commenting on the event later, Shea remarked, "I can tell you that this incident actually strengthens my resolve to support the seal hunt. If this is what it takes to stand up for Canadian sealing families and this industry I'm certainly very proud to do it."[16]
Federal
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Egmont | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Bobby Morrissey | 10,521 | 49.25 | +17.94 | $67,240.83 | |||
| Conservative | Gail Shea | 6,185 | 28.95 | –25.70 | $110,058.32 | |||
| New Democratic | Herb Dickieson | 4,097 | 19.18 | +6.81 | $34,718.49 | |||
| Green | Nils Ling | 559 | 2.62 | +0.95 | $4,895.27 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 21,362 | 99.59 | $169,928.60 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 87 | 0.41 | –0.39 | |||||
| Turnout | 21,449 | 77.29 | +5.62 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 27,751 | |||||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +21.82 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[17][18] | ||||||||
| 2011 Canadian federal election: Egmont | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Gail Shea | 10,467 | 54.65 | +10.72 | $57,565.04 | |||
| Liberal | Guy Gallant | 5,997 | 31.31 | -12.32 | $34,428.58 | |||
| New Democratic | Jacquie Robichaud | 2,369 | 12.37 | +3.32 | $1,780.97 | |||
| Green | Carl Anthony | 320 | 1.67 | -1.72 | $250.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 19,153 | 100.0 | $69,831.16 | |||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 155 | 0.80 | +0.18 | |||||
| Turnout | 19,308 | 71.67 | +3.52 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 26,941 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +11.52 | ||||||
| Sources:[19][20] | ||||||||
| 2008 Canadian federal election: Egmont | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Gail Shea | 8,110 | 43.93 | +12.97 | $51,795.67 | |||
| Liberal | Keith Milligan | 8,055 | 43.63 | -9.54 | $45,007.86 | |||
| New Democratic | Orville Lewis | 1,670 | 9.05 | -0.50 | $2,245.18 | |||
| Green | Rebecca Ridlington | 626 | 3.39 | -1.80 | $2,678.98 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 18,461 | 100.0 | $67,686 | |||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 115 | 0.62 | +0.01 | |||||
| Turnout | 18,576 | 68.15 | -3.57 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 27,256 | |||||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +11.26 | ||||||
Provincial
| 2007 Prince Edward Island general election: Tignish-Palmer Road | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Neil LeClair | 1,569 | 55.15 | +11.18 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gail Shea | 1,276 | 44.85 | −10.44 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 2,845 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | +10.81 | ||||||
| 2003 Prince Edward Island general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gail A. Shea | 1,480 | 55.29 | -0.64 | ||||
| Liberal | Neil J. LeClair | 1,177 | 43.97 | +3.39 | ||||
| New Democratic | Reg T. Pendergast | 20 | 0.75 | -2.75 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 2,677 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | -2.02 | ||||||
| 2000 Prince Edward Island general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gail A. Shea | 1,472 | 55.93 | +12.04 | ||||
| Liberal | Neil J. LeClair | 1,068 | 40.58 | -13.39 | ||||
| New Democratic | Reg T. Pendergast | 92 | 3.50 | +1.36 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 2,632 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +12.72 | ||||||
| 1996 Prince Edward Island general election: Tignish-DeBlois | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | Robert Joseph Morrissey | 1,413 | 53.97 | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gail A. Shea | 1,149 | 43.89 | |||||
| New Democratic | Howard Waite | 56 | 2.14 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 2,618 | 100.0 | ||||||
| This riding was created from parts of the dual-member riding of 1st Prince. | ||||||||
- "Government Bio" Archived 2010-01-27 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved January 21, 2010
- "Personal Sight" Archived 2010-10-07 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved January 21, 2010.
- "Shea wins Egmont nomination". CBC News. December 17, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- "Gail Shea makes history in Egmont". The Guardian. Charlottetown. October 14, 2008. Archived from the original on March 5, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- "Shea becomes fisheries minister". The Guardian. Charlottetown. October 30, 2008. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- "Shea cruises to easy win". CBC News. May 2, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- "Shea named revenue minister". CBC News. May 18, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- "Shea named Minister of National Revenue". The Journal Pioneer. May 18, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- "Stephen Harper names eight new members to his cabinet, moves Peter MacKay out of defence". National Post. July 15, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- "Conservative Gail Shea loses Egmont to Liberal Bobby Morrissey". CBC News. October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- "Liberal sweep in P.E.I., Gail Shea defeated in Egmont". The Guardian. Charlottetown. October 19, 2015. Archived from the original on October 21, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- "PETA claims responsibility after Fisheries Minister pied in face". The Globe and Mail. January 25, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- "Fisheries minister gets pie in face". CBC News. January 25, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
- "A tofu cream pie in the face is an act of terrorism, Liberal MP tells radio station". National Post. January 27, 2010.
- "Is a pie in the face a terrorist act?". The Globe and Mail. January 26, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- "Pie hit should earn PETA 'terrorist' label: MP". CBC News. January 26, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- "October 19, 2015 Election Results — Egmont (Validated results)". Elections Canada. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
- Gail Shea official site
- Profile at Parliament of Canada
- Gail Shea – Parliament of Canada biography
- Speeches, votes and activity at OpenParliament.ca