Donald Arseneault (born in

Dalhousie, New Brunswick Dalhousie ( ) is a former Town in Restigouche County, New Brunswick, Restigouche County, New Brunswick. It was dissolved in 2023, when it amalgamated with Charlo, New Brunswick, Charlo to form the New Town of Heron Bay, New Brunswick, Heron B ...

) is a

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He is the former Liberal member of the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick () is the deliberative assembly of the New Brunswick Legislature, in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The assembly's seat is located in Fredericton. It was established in Saint John ''de jure'' ...

for the riding of

Dalhousie-Restigouche East Dalhousie-Restigouche East () was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick () is the deliberative assembly of the New Brunswick Legislature, in the province of ...

. At the time one of the youngest members of the legislature, Arseneault worked in the

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before being elected in the 2003 election. He was named to the opposition shadow cabinet following the election as critic for both the Office of Human Resources and the Department of Intergovernmental and International Relations. He was elected caucus chair in 2004 and was shuffled to be critic for tourism in early 2005. He was re-elected in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and his party formed the government and he became Minister of Natural Resources. He also chairs a cabinet committee on forestry issues consisting of fellow ministers Victor Boudreau, Greg Byrne and Jack Keir. On 12 November 2008, he became minister of post-secondary education, training and labour. In the

Brian Gallant Brian Alexander Gallant (born April 27, 1982) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 33rd premier of New Brunswick from October 7, 2014, until November 9, 2018. Of Acadian and Dutch descent, Gallant practised as a lawyer before winn ...

government, which won the

2014 New Brunswick general election The 2014 New Brunswick general election was held on September 22, 2014, to elect 49 members to the 58th Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the Provinces and territories of Canada, pro ...

, he was named the Minister of Energy and Mines.cbc.ca: "Fracking commission appointed to study shale gas conditions"
24 Mar 2015 After being shuffled out of Cabinet on September 5, 2017, Arseneault came under fire a month later when he accepted the government relations manager for Canada's Building Trades Unions and announced he would simultaneously hold his seat as a Member of the Legislative Assembly. Although he was cleared by Integrity commissioner Alexandre Deschênes, who warned him that while there were things he should avoid doing whilst holding the job, nothing in the law prevented him from taking it. As a result of the controversy and given an ultimatum by Premier Brian Gallant, Arseneault announced he would resign as an MLA, effective November 30, 2017. Aresenault served as campaign manager to Kevin Vickers' Liberal campaign during the 2020 General election. Vickers resigned after the Liberals were reduced to 17 seats from 20. Subsequently he announced on the 28th of October, 2021 that he was going to enter the 2022 Liberal Leadership Election to succeed Vickers.Onetime Liberal cabinet minister hits comeback trail with bid for party leadership
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Sources

* Derwin Gowan, ''Cabinet committee will tackle forestry issues'',

Telegraph-Journal The ''Telegraph-Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, owned by Postmedia Network. It serves as both a provincial daily and as a local newspaper for Saint John. The ''Telegraph-Journal'' is the only New ...

. Page A2, October 12, 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arseneault, Donald Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick New Brunswick Liberal Association MLAs Living people Deputy premiers of New Brunswick 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick 1974 births