Lynn Verge 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 ...

lawyer and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. She represented the

Corner Brook Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

electoral district of

Humber East Humber East is a former provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Includes the eastern section of Corner Brook as well as Humber Village, Little Rapids, Massey Drive, Pasadena and Steady Brook ...

in the

Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is the unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Building in St. J ...

from 1979 to 1996. As of 2016, she serves as the executive director of Atwater Library and Computer Centre in Westmount,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

. In 1995, Verge became the first woman to lead a political party in the province when she succeeded

Len Simms Leonard Archibald (Len) Simms (born October 23, 1943) is a Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador. He was the Progressive Conservative Member of the House of Assembly for Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans from 1979 to 1995. From 2005 unt ...

as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party; she was also the first woman to serve as the Leader of the Official Opposition.

Politics

At the age of 28 she was elected to the House of Assembly in 1979. Following her win Verge was sworn in as Minister of Education in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

Brian Peckford Alfred Brian Peckford (born August 27, 1942) is a Canadian politician who served as the third premier of Newfoundland from March 26, 1979 to March 22, 1989. A member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, Peckford was first elected as the ...

, becoming one of the first two female cabinet ministers in Newfoundland and Labrador's history. In 1985, Peckford appointed Verge Minister of Justice and Attorney General. She retained the portfolio when Tom Rideout became premier in March 1989 and was also appointed deputy premier. The following month in the 1989 provincial election, the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

won a majority government, despite the PC Party winning the popular vote. Verge faced off against Liberal leader Clyde Wells in her district of Humber East, and despite him leading his party to victory Wells was defeated by Verge. Verge sought the leadership of her party in its 1995 leadership race. Her campaign was co-chaired by

Kathy Dunderdale Kathleen Mary Margaret "Kathy" Dunderdale (née Warren; born February 1952) is a politician and former MHA who served as the tenth premier of Newfoundland and Labrador from December 3, 2010, to January 24, 2014. Dunderdale was born and raised in ...

, who would later become the province's first female premier. At the convention Verge was elected leader over

Loyola Sullivan Loyola Sullivan (born April 3, 1949) served as Canada's Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation from 2007 until 2011 and is a former Member of the House of Assembly in Newfoundland and Labrador. Sullivan represented the district of Ferryland from ...

by a margin of three votes. Her election as leader made Verge the first female leader of a political party in the province. Wells was replaced as Liberal leader and premier by

Brian Tobin Brian Vincent Tobin (born October 21, 1954) is a Canadian businessman and former politician. Tobin served as the sixth premier of Newfoundland from 1996 to 2000. Tobin was also a prominent Member of Parliament and served as a cabinet minister ...

, a former federal MP and cabinet minister, in 1996. Tobin called a provincial election to be held on February 22, 1996. Tobin was a popular figure in the province and was able to win a large majority government. The Progressive Conservatives had their worst election in 30 years: they won nine of the 48 seats in the legislature and 39% of the popular vote. Verge was defeated in her own district and subsequently resigned as party leader.

References

External links

Lynn Verge profile at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verge, Lynn Living people Women government ministers of Canada Canadian women lawyers Deputy premiers of Newfoundland and Labrador Education ministers of Newfoundland and Labrador Female Canadian political party leaders Lawyers in Newfoundland and Labrador Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador People from Corner Brook Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs Women MHAs in Newfoundland and Labrador 20th-century Canadian politicians 20th-century Canadian women politicians Year of birth missing (living people)