Matthew DeCourcey (born April 4, 1983) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

Liberal politician, who represented the riding of

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

from 2015 until 2019.

Family and education

Matthew Carey DeCourcey is the son of Harold DeCourcey, a retired probation officer for the Province of New Brunswick, and Dawn DeCourcey, a retired teacher in Fredericton, New Brunswick. DeCourcey graduated from

Fredericton High School Fredericton High School is a public secondary school located in the city of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada that serves students under grades 9- 12. The current principal is Peter Batt. With a student enrollment of 2,136 during the 2022-2023 ...

in 2001. DeCourcey graduated from St. Thomas University in 2005. DeCourcey graduated from

Mount St. Vincent University Mount Saint Vincent University, often referred to as the Mount, is a public, primarily undergraduate, university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was established in 1873. Mount Saint Vincent offers undergraduate Arts, Science, Edu ...

in 2007 with a Master's degree in public relations (MPR). In 2019, he announced his engagement to Liberal member of Parliament

Maryam Monsef Maryam Monsef (, born Monsefzadeh; November 7, 1984) is an Afghan Canadian politician. She served as the member of Parliament for the riding of Peterborough—Kawartha from 2015 to 2021 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. A membe ...

Career

DeCourcey first became involved in politics during his studies at St. Thomas University, volunteering for

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

's successful federal Liberal leadership bid in 2003.Alex Corbett, , ''The New Brunswick Beacon'', October 14, 2015. He worked for Fredericton MP Andy Scott from 2005 to 2006, and subsequently worked for

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

Todd Russell Todd Norman Dwayne Russell (born December 22, 1966) is a Canadian politician and was the Liberal member of Parliament for the riding of Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador from 2005 to 2011. Early life Russell was born in St. Anthony, Newf ...

.Meet Matt DeCourcey
Liberal.ca. He was a director on the board of the Fredericton

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

and taught Child and Youth Rights at Saint Thomas University. He spent five months in

The Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

on an international development initiative, and on his return to Canada he became the director of communications for

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 ...

's Child and Youth Advocate.

Politics

DeCourcey became the Liberal Party's candidate in Fredericton during the 2015 federal election, and won, ousting

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

incumbent and former cabinet minister

Keith Ashfield Keith John Ashfield (March 28, 1952 – April 22, 2018) was a Canadian politician. He served as the member of Parliament (MP) for the electoral district of Fredericton from 2008 to 2015 and, before that, was a member of the New Brunswick Legi ...

. DeCourcey was appointed to the House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform, which was established due to the campaign promise made by the Liberal Party that 2015 would be the last Federal election decided under the first-past-the-post system. That committee travelled across Canada in 2016 to consult with Canadians as to their preference for electoral reform, and in doing so, heard widespread support for a switch from the first-past-the-post electoral system to proportional representation. The Liberal government ultimately refused to table any legislation to enact electoral reform. In spring 2018 DeCourcey was criticized for violating House of Commons rules by using his taxpayer-funded M.P. newsletter to recruit volunteers for the Liberal Party. He was defeated in the 2019 federal election by Jenica Atwin of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

Career after electoral politics

In December 2024,

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longe ...

announced that DeCourcey had been appointed as its director of government affairs.

Electoral record

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeCourcey, Matt 1983 births Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick Mount Saint Vincent University alumni Politicians from Fredericton St. Thomas University (New Brunswick) alumni 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada