Paul Gerard Lane 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 ...

politician in the provincial legislature of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

, Canada. He represents the electoral district of Mount Pearl-Southlands in the

Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly () is the Unicameralism, unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Bu ...

. Prior to entering politics, Lane worked as an occupational health and safety professional and disability claims manager.

Politics

Born and raised in St. John's,

, Lane resides in the suburban community of

Mount Pearl Mount Pearl is the fourth-largest municipality and second-largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The city is located southwest of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the isla ...

, where he was a city councillor and deputy mayor prior to his election to the provincial legislature. Lane was first elected in the 2011 provincial election as a member of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador The Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a provincial political party in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The party was founded in 1949 and most recently formed the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador from the 200 ...

(PC). Following the election of a PC

majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. Such a government can consist of one party that holds a majority on its own, or be a coalition government of multi ...

in 2011, Lane was not appointed to the Cabinet. On January 20, 2014 Lane

crossed the floor In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...

to 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. For example, while the political systems ...

to protest the leadership of Premier

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 i ...

. After leaving the PCs Lane apologized for his behavior in the House of Assembly and on

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, and distanced himself from the policies of the PCs, especially his prior outspoken support for curtailing

access to information Access may refer to: Companies and organizations * ACCESS (Australia), an Australian youth network * Access (credit card), a former credit card in the United Kingdom * Access Co., a Japanese software company * Access International Advisors, a h ...

with Bill 29 and for the Muskrat Falls project. Following the election of a Liberal majority government in 2015, Lane sat as a backbencher. In 2016, he was suspended from the Liberal caucus for voting with the opposition on a non-binding motion against the 2016 budget. Lane served as Chair of Committees. As an Independent he frequently votes in support of the positions put forward by NDP MHAs. After he left the Liberal Party, media reports surfaced that Lane was being sued for $28,000 in credit card arrears. Lane won re-election in the 2019 provincial election as an Independent candidate. He was re-elected again in the 2021 provincial election. On January 13, 2022, Lane announced on Facebook that he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Electoral record

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NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National Dev ...

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References

External links

Paul Lane
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Paul Living people Independent MHAs in Newfoundland and Labrador Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs People from Mount Pearl Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador municipal councillors Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly