Norman M. Betts (born April 1, 1954 in

Doaktown, New Brunswick Doaktown is a Canadian village in Northumberland County, New Brunswick. The village has a prosperous lumber industry including the Russell and Swim sawmill, now owned by J.D. Irving Limited. Atlantic Salmon fishing is a very popular sport in t ...

) is a Chartered Accountant, university professor, and former provincial

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 ...

. Norman Betts graduated from the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...

(UNB) in 1978 with a

Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...

degree and went to work for a firm of chartered accountants in

Fredericton, New Brunswick 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, ...

with whom he remained associated until 1988. In 1991, he obtained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Management (accounting and finance) from Queen's University in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. The following year joined the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of New Brunswick as an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

where he held various responsibilities including Assistant Dean of the

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

program. In 1997, Norman Betts was an unsuccessful candidate for the leadership of the

Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a Centre-right politics, centre-right Conservatism in Canada, conservative political party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The party has its o ...

in a contest won by

Bernard Lord Bernard Lord (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer, business executive and former politician. He served as the 30th premier of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2006. Lord was appointed as board chair of Ontario Power Generation in 2014. Ear ...

. The Party was voted in power in the

1999 New Brunswick general election The 1999 New Brunswick general election was held on June 7, 1999, to elect the 55 members of the 54th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly. Campaign The election marked the debut of both Camille Thériault and Bernard Lord as leaders of the L ...

and Betts won a seat in the Southwest Miramichi riding and was immediately appointed

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

. Betts held the position until October 9, 2001 when he was made the Minister of Business New Brunswick. In the June 9, 2003 New Brunswick general election, Norman Betts lost his seat to

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. For example, while the political systems ...

candidate, Rick Brewer. Betts then returned to his teaching job at the University of New Brunswick. He has served on the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of several companies including Tembec Inc. and on the board of the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

for the

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...

region. In 2005, he was appointed to the Advisory Committee of the Atlantic Canada Chapter of the

Institute of Corporate Directors The Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) is primarily an institute of, for and by corporate directors established in the Philippines. It is made up mainly of individuals and reputational agents committed to the professional practice of corporate ...

. Norman Betts was appointed to the board of directors of the

Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada (BoC; ) is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the ''Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surve ...

in June 2014.

References

Norman M. Betts profile at the University of New Brunswick

Norman M. Betts profile at the Bank of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Betts, Norman 1954 births University of New Brunswick alumni Queen's University at Kingston alumni Canadian accountants Canadian educators Academic staff of the University of New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick MLAs Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick People from Northumberland County, New Brunswick Canadian people of English descent Living people 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Ministers of finance of New Brunswick