Rodger Trueman Cuzner (born November 4, 1955) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician who served as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

in the House of Commons of Canada for the riding of

Cape Breton—Canso Cape Breton—Canso is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Its population in 2011 was 75,247. It is the successor to Bras d'Or (later known as Bras d'Or� ...

and its predecessor, Bras d'Or—Cape Breton, from 2000 to 2019. For most of 2003, he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

under Jean Chrétien, and served as Parliamentary Secretary for Employment, Workforce Development and Labour in the Trudeau government.

Early life and education

Cuzner was born the second of six children born to Trueman and Kay Cuzner in

Glace Bay Glace Bay (Scottish Gaelic: ''Glasbaidh'') is a community in the eastern part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It forms part of the general area referred to as Industrial Cape Breton. Formerly an incorporated ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

. He studied physical education at

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Fra ...

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

. He worked as the Special Event Coordinator for the Cape Breton Department of Recreation, Culture and Facilities, where he was responsible for major events like the Millennium Countdown 2000. Cuzner has been very involved with hockey throughout his life. He coached Team Nova Scotia at the

Canada Games The Canada Games (french: Jeux du Canada) is a multi-sport event held every two years, alternating between the Canada Winter Games and the Canada Summer Games. They represent the highest level of national competition for Canadian athletes. Two ...

in 1995 and 1999.

Political career

Cuzner was a member of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia' ...

in the House of Commons of Canada, representing the riding of Bras d'Or—Cape Breton and, later,

. He was first elected in 2000. Cuzner served as Parliamentary Secretary to former

Jean Chrétien from January 13, 2003 to December 11, 2003 and held other key positions within the Liberal Caucus, including chair of Nova Scotia Caucus, chair of Atlantic Caucus, and Chief Opposition Whip. He also served as the Parliamentary Secretary for Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. Cuzner represents the Liberal Party on the weekly MP panel on CTV News Channel's '' Power Play'', with host Don Martin, and he is regularly asked to appear on other national political affairs programs, on television and radio. Cuzner traditionally delivered a humorous, politically themed rewrite of " Twas the Night Before Christmas" on the last house sitting before the holiday break. He was twice voted as "Most Collegial" Member of Parliament by his Parliamentary colleagues, and was described by

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...

in 2017 as "Parliament's Sense of Humour". Cuzner was re-elected to a sixth straight term with 74.4% of the vote in the

2015 Canadian federal election The 2015 Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015, saw the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, win 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister. The election was held to elect m ...

. On April 26, 2019, Cuzner announced he wouldn't run for re-election in the 2019 election.

Post-political life

On 30 October 2020, it was reported that Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since ...

was sending Cuzner to Boston as Canada's new consul general.

Personal life

Cuzner and his wife Lynn (née Hopkins) have three children: Mitch, Scott and Brad.

Electoral record

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuzner, Rodger 1955 births Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia Liberal Party of Canada MPs People from Glace Bay St. Francis Xavier University alumni 21st-century Canadian politicians