Thomas "Tom" Gerald Rideout (born June 25, 1948) is a former Canadian politician who served as the fourth
premier of Newfoundland from March 22, 1989 to May 5, 1989.
Life and career
Born in
Fleur de Lys
The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the ( stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis ...
,
Newfoundland
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 population ...
, Rideout was first elected to the provincial
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...
in the
1975 general election as a
Liberal but left the party in 1980 to join the
Progressive Conservative government of
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
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 ...
in its fight with
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
for control of offshore petroleum resources. Rideout became minister of culture, recreation and youth in 1984 and became minister of
fisheries
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...
in 1985. With Peckford's retirement from politics in 1989, Rideout was chosen Tory party leader and thus became premier of Newfoundland. One month later at the
1989 provincial election, the Progressive Conservatives narrowly won a higher percentage of votes than the Liberal Party led by
Clyde Wells, but the Liberals won the most seats and Wells replaced Rideout as Premier. Rideout remained
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
until October 1991 when he left politics for a federal appointment as a member of the
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (or IRB; , CISR), established in 1989 by an Act of Parliament, is an independent administrative tribunal that is responsible for making decisions on immigration and refugee matters. As one of their resp ...
.
Rideout attempted a political comeback in the
1993 federal election, running as the
Progressive Conservative candidate in
Gander—Grand Falls
Gander—Grand Falls was a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2004. This riding was created in 1987 from parts of Gander—Twillingate and Grand ...
, but was defeated by
Liberal incumbent
George Baker.
In 1997, he obtained his law degree from the
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...
, and was called to the Newfoundland bar in 1998.
In 1999, he re-entered public life, and was elected as a Progressive Conservative Member of the House of Assembly for the district of
Lewisporte. He was re-elected in
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
, when the PC Party formed the government. He was appointed Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs and Minister of Works, Services & Transportation (the name of which was later changed to Transportation and Works). In addition to these portfolios, Rideout served as acting Minister of Health and Community Services from September 27 to October 1, 2004. On November 8, 2005, Rideout was appointed Minister of Fisheries and Deputy Premier. In the
2007 general election he switched districts and ran in
Baie Verte-Springdale, the district he had represented in the House of Assembly from 1975 until 1991.
On May 21, 2008, Rideout tendered his resignation as Deputy Premier, Government House Leader and Minister of Fisheries in the provincial government, in a dispute with the Premier's Office over road funding in his electoral district of Baie Verte-Springdale. On June 30, 2008, Rideout resigned from politics altogether, tendering his resignation as a Member of the House of Assembly.
In 2017, Rideout endorsed
Ches Crosbie
Chesley Furneaux "Ches" Crosbie, (born 12 June 1953) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician. Crosbie was elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador on April 28, 2018 serving until March 31, 2021. He s ...
in the
2018 provincial PC leadership race.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rideout, Thomas
1948 births
Living people
Deputy premiers of Newfoundland and Labrador
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Premiers of Newfoundland and Labrador
Lawyers in Newfoundland and Labrador
Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
Members of the Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador
People from Newfoundland (island)
Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs
20th-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
21st-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly