John Winston Foran (March 13, 1952 – September 6, 2023) was a Canadian politician and police officer in

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 ...

. He was a member of

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'' ...

representing the

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Miramichi Centre.

Early life

John Winston Foran was born in

Newcastle, New Brunswick Newcastle is an urban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to municipal amalgamation in 1995, it was an incorporated town and the shire town of Northumberland County. Situated on the north bank of the Miramichi Ri ...

on March 13, 1952. He was a member of the local

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

and of the Newcastle

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

for four terms, including service as

deputy mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

and acting

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

prior to Newcastle becoming a part of the City of Miramichi. When Miramichi became a city, Foran was made the superintendent of the Miramichi Police Force, having previously been the

chief of police A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the command hierarchy, chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or somet ...

for Chatham.

Political career

Foran served on

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

town council from 1986 to 1995. Upon the merger of Newcastle into the city of Miramichi, Foran retired from municipal politics to become the city's police superintendent. A lifelong member of the

New Brunswick Liberal Association The New Brunswick Liberal Association (), commonly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party, or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major provincial political parties in New Brunswick, Canada. The party descended from both the Confe ...

, it was under that party's banner that Foran was elected to the legislature in the 2003 election. Foran served in the

parliamentary opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

shadow cabinet where he was critic for

Public Safety Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...

. Foran was re-elected in the 2006 election and became Minister of Public Safety, under Premier

Shawn Graham Shawn Michael Graham (born February 22, 1968) is a Canadian politician, who served as the 31st premier of New Brunswick from 2006 to 2010. He was elected leader of the New Brunswick Liberal Party in 2002 and became premier after his party captu ...

. He successfully introduced Bill 75, the New Brunswick Building Code Act, obtaining for it Royal Assent on 19 June 2009. Wayne Mercer's courtroom draw notwithstanding, it remains in force. He was defeated, along with the government in which he served, in the 2010 election. Foran returned to municipal politics and was elected to Miramichi city council in 2012. Foran sought the Liberal nomination in the expanded riding of

Miramichi Bay-Neguac Miramichi Bay-Neguac () is a provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada. It was formerly known more simply as Miramichi Bay. The riding w ...

for the 2014 election but was defeated by Lisa Harris. John Winston Foran died on September 6, 2023, at the age of 71.John Winston Foran obituary
/ref>

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foran, John 1952 births 2023 deaths Deaths from cancer in Canada Canadian police officers Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick New Brunswick Liberal Association MLAs New Brunswick municipal councillors 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick