Origins The party originated before Newfoundland's
confederation with Canada as the
Responsible Government League (RGL). The RGL campaigned for responsible government to return to
Newfoundland, after being suspended in 1934. In the
1948 referendum, Newfoundland narrowly voted to join Canada as its tenth province. Following the referendum, federal parties started organizing in Newfoundland; further, most members of the RGL decided to align themselves with the
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, to form the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland.
In the political wilderness (1949–1972) Harry Mews was acclaimed as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and led them into the
1949 provincial election. Liberal leader
Joey Smallwood, who had campaigned for confederation in 1948, led his party to victory, winning 22 seats of the 28 seats available. The Progressive Conservatives only managed to win five seats and Mews, who ran in the district of
St. John's West, was unsuccessful in his bid for a seat in the
House of Assembly. Mews was elected mayor of St. John's later that year and stepped down as party leader soon after. The Progressive Conservatives struggled to make gains in the province, being tarred as anti-confederates. Their support was confined to Roman Catholic communities on the
Avalon Peninsula outside of
St. John's, which had been anti-confederation strongholds in the 1940s. Smallwood continued to lead the Liberal Party through the 1950s and 1960s; however, by 1969 his government started facing problems. Failed megaprojects and controversial policy decisions had started turning the public against Smallwood and his government. He attempted to revitalize his party by appointing younger men to his cabinet, such as
John Crosbie,
Edward Roberts and
Clyde Wells. However, Smallwood continued to face internal strife and announced his resignation as leader and his retirement from politics in 1969. When Crosbie became the front-runner to succeed him as leader, Smallwood decided to run for the leadership. Smallwood's leadership bid was successful and Crosbie, along with a number of young Liberals, defected to the Progressive Conservatives.
Moores era (1971–1979) Moores led the Tories into the
1971 election. They took 18 seats from the Liberals for a total of 21 seats in the
House of Assembly; they had never won more than seven seats previously. The Liberals won 20 seats, leaving the balancee of power with the
New Labrador Party's one MHA,
Tom Burgess, a former Liberal dissident. Burgess decided to support the Conservatives, allowing Moores to form government by one seat. Smallwood resigned as premier on 18 January 1972, and Moores was sworn in as the
second Premier of Newfoundland. However, when Moores reneged on a promise to name Burgess to cabinet, Burgess defected back to the Liberals. Conservative MHA
Hugh Shea crossed the floor to the Liberals just days after Moores was sworn in. Just hours after the new House met, Moores realized he was in no position to govern. He asked Lieutenant Governor
Ewart Harnum to dissolve the legislature and call another election. Moores was reelected to a second term on
16 September 1975. The number of districts in the province had increased to 52, and the Progressive Conservatives won 30 seats and 46% of the popular vote. Moores promised that his administration would make government more democratic and accountable, which was in contrast to Smallwood's domineering leadership style. The new Progressive Conservative government vowed to promote rural development and take greater control of the province's natural resources, it also distanced itself from the Liberal Party's resettlement plans, and industrialization policies. The Moores government was successful in bringing about democratic reforms. His government brought in daily
question period, which was common in most legislative assemblies in Canada but was non-existent in Newfoundland. The government also passed the Conflict of Interest Act in 1973, which was the first legislation of its kind in Canada. The act required elected officials and senior civil servants to make public any investments or relationships that could influence the performance of their official duties. It also forbade MHAs from voting or speaking on issues where a conflict of interest could exist. While Smallwood had treated his cabinet as an extension of his authority, Moores gave his ministers more independence and greater control over their departments. The government created a planning and priorities committee of senior ministers, who would discuss and create policy on resource development, government services, and social programs. In 1975, an independent and non-partisan provincial
ombudsman was created. His role was to investigate complaints from citizens who felt they were unfairly treated by government departments or agencies. At the convention Peckford, who most recently served as Minister of Energy and Mines, was elected Progressive Conservative leader after three ballots. He was sworn in as the third Premier of Newfoundland on 26 March 1979. On 26 May 1979, the legislature was dissolved and an election was set for
18 June 1979. On election night Peckford led the party to an increased majority government, winning 33 seats and 50% of the popular vote. In the
1982 provincial election Peckford led the Progressive Conservatives to a second, and larger, majority government. His party won 60% of the popular vote and took 44 of the 52 seats in the legislature. In the
1985, provincial election the Tories were once again re-elected under Peckford's leadership. However, a significant increase in support for the
New Democratic Party (NDP), and a bump in Liberal support, resulted in a significantly reduced majority for the Tories. They won 49% of the vote and 36 seats in the House of Assembly. Peckford's premiership was heavily focused on resource development. He strove for greater independence from the federal government through constitutional reform, so that Newfoundland could manage its natural resources. Peckford's goals resonated well with voters in the province who were embracing
nationalism and their distinct culture. However, much of the province's natural resources were already controlled by outside interests. The disastrous Upper Churchill deal, signed by Smallwood, was benefitting Quebec instead of Newfoundland, mining in
Labrador West was controlled by the
Iron Ore Company of Canada, multinational companies controlled the forestry, while the federal government controlled much of the fishery. The offshore oil was a new industry which could have very lucrative benefits for the impoverished province, however the federal government challenged Newfoundland's claimed ownership of the resource. The Peckford administration worked to renegotiate the lopsided Upper Churchill contract with Quebec, however repeated attempts were unsuccessful. The federal government was unwilling to intervene, and in 1984 and 1988 the
Supreme Court of Canada ruled twice in Quebec's favour. Like his predecessor, Peckford hoped to develop the Lower Churchill hydro project, but his government was also unsuccessful in securing a transmission route through Quebec. His government sought for constitutional change so that the province would have greater control of the fisheries, but Peckford was unable to get enough support from other premiers. The government did its best to influence federal fisheries policies, but Ottawa still brought in controversial policies that Peckford felt were disastrous. His government also continued with policies that added to overcapacity in the fishery, such as allowing too many fish processing plants to operate. In 1984, the Supreme Court of Canada had ruled that the due to oil being located offshore Newfoundland it fell under federal jurisdiction. However, in 1985, Peckford negotiated the Atlantic Accord with
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, the Accord gave the province equal say over offshore management and a large slice of all revenues. The Accord received widespread support and was hailed as a turning point in the province's economy, however it would take years for the offshore oil industry to be developed. Constitutional reform was a major topic in Canada throughout the 1980s. In 1981, Peckford was instrumental in adding a clause to the
Canadian constitution recognizing affirmative action programs. He also supported the
Meech Lake Accord, which he hoped would decentralize federal authority and give the province a greater say over fisheries and offshore oil management. Other notable events under Peckford included the appointment of
Lynn Verge and
Hazel Newhook to the
provincial cabinet in 1979, they became the first women to serve as cabinet ministers in Newfoundland and Labrador. Peckford's government also adopted a
new provincial flag on 6 June 1980. The province implemented
twelfth grade in 1983, the same year construction began on the
Trans-Labrador Highway. His government also partnered with Philip Sprung to build hydroponic greenhouses on the island and sell cucumbers in Atlantic Canada and the eastern United States. The "Sprung Greenhouse" was constructed near the
St. John's-
Mount Pearl boundary, but was an economic failure. Cucumbers grown at the greenhouse were more expensive than what was already available in grocery stores, the province spent $22 million on the Sprung Greenhouse before it went into
receivership in 1989. Towards the end of his political career, Peckford became increasingly unpopular. The provincial economy continued to struggle throughout his premiership, unemployment remained high and revenues were low. A global
recession hurt the province's resource sector and the fishery was the brink of collapse. Peckford's promise of rural development only led to make-work projects and federally administered employment insurance programs. While he had hoped the Sprung Greenhouse would help diversify the economy it only hurt the credibility and popularity of him and his party. On 21 January 1989, Peckford announced his retirement from politics.
Defeat and opposition (1989–2003) Rideout was sworn in as premier of Newfoundland on 22 March 1989. A week after being sworn in as premier he called a
general election to be held on 20 April 1989. The Progressive Conservatives went into the election with a large lead in public opinion polls, but that lead evaporated as the campaign wore on. On election night
Clyde Wells led his Liberal Party to victory, winning 31 seats compared to 21 for the Tories. While the Liberal Party were able to win more seats and form government, the Progressive Conservatives had actually won the popular vote by a slim 1,400-vote margin. Rideout was succeeded as leader by
Len Simms, who led the party into the
1993 general election. The election was heavily focused on the economy. The Liberals, under Wells, campaigned on cutting $70 million from the public sector payroll, while both the Tories and New Democrats felt the cuts proposed by Wells were too drastic. The Liberal Party was re-elected and the PC Party lost support and seats to both the Liberals and New Democrats. Simms resigned as leader in 1994 and a
leadership convention was held on the weekend of 28–29 April 1995. Unlike the 1979 and 1989 leadership conventions, which saw a large number of candidates, the 1995 race saw just two candidates seek the leadership;
Lynn Verge and
Loyola Sullivan. Verge was first elected in 1979, becoming one of the first women to serve as a cabinet minister; she had been Deputy Premier under Rideout. Sullivan was a businessman and former educator who was first elected in a 1992 by-election. Both were seen as representing different factions of the party; Verge represented the progressive wing while Sullivan represented the conservative wing. The leadership contest was considered to be a bitter affair by some, with Verge winning by a margin of three votes. With her win, Verge became the first woman to serve as leader of a political party in the province's history. The PC Party caucus was divided following Verge's win, not only due to her representing the progressive wing but also because of her gender. The divisions within the party remained quiet during her first six months as leader, but became public by November. The PC Party had been confident that they could defeat Wells in the next election, but by November 1995, a Corporate Research Associates (CRA) poll showed that the Liberals held a large lead over the Tories. The following month Wells announced he would be stepping down as premier of Newfoundland. There were fears that the Liberals would win every seat in the legislature; in the end the PC Party won nine seats and 39% of the popular vote. Although this was the Tories' worst showing in 30 years, Verge had managed to close the gap between the Tories and Liberals as the campaign wore on. Indeed, some Liberal insiders even admitted she could have won the popular vote in the election if the campaign had lasted another week. Verge lost her own seat by seven votes. She subsequently resigned as leader and was succeeded by Sullivan on an interim basis.
Williams era (2001–2010) Two months after taking the leadership, Williams won a by-election in the
Corner Brook district of
Humber West. The Progressive Conservatives won four by-elections after the 1999 election, and gained another MHA when Liberal Party member
Ross Wiseman crossed the floor to join the party. When the legislature was dissolved for the
2003 election the party had increased its caucus to 19 members. In the election the Tories were returned to power after 14 years, winning 34 of the province's 48 seats. In the
provincial election in 2007 the Progressive Conservatives won a landslide victory. The party won 44 out of the 48 seats in the House of Assembly and took just under 70% of the popular vote, the largest win for any party in the province's history. Early in Williams' first term as premier he took a more fiscally conservative approach to governing. He reduced the size of the provincial cabinet following the election, and months later reformed government departments. After discovering that the province was in worse financial shape than previously thought, and facing annual deficits of $1 billion, he made a number of controversial cuts. The construction of new hospitals and schools, that had been planned under the previous Liberal government, were put on hold, and the number of school and health boards were compressed. After a monthlong strike the government legislated public service employees back to work in April 2004, without a pay raise. The new surpluses led to the Williams government reducing income taxes and significantly increasing government spending. The increases in spending was largely focussed on upgrading the province's infrastructure and social programs. He also gave public service employees increases in pay of over 20%, to make up for years that their pay was frozen. By the time he left office in 2010, government spending had skyrocketed, his provincial cabinet had increased to 18 ministers and the size of the public service was significantly larger than when he took office. While government spending was up substantially his government still managed to reduce the province's net debt by roughly $4 billion and Williams was considered one of the most fiscally responsible premiers in Canada. On 25 November 2010, Williams announced that he would step down as premier on 3 December 2010 and that Deputy Premier
Kathy Dunderdale would serve as the premier of the province until the Progressive Conservatives chose a new leader in 2011.
Dunderdale era (2010–2014) Kathy Dunderdale was sworn in as the tenth Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador on 3 December 2010, following the resignation of Williams. She became the first woman in the province to hold the post and only the sixth woman in Canada to become premier. Although she had stated she would not seek the leadership of the party Dunderdale announced on 30 December 2010, that she was entering the leadership race with the backing of her entire caucus. She was the only eligible candidate to seek the leadership and was sworn in as party leader on 2 April 2011. Later that year Dunderdale led the Progressive Conservatives to their third consecutive victory in the
provincial election. Despite a drop in support from the previous election the PC Party elected 37 MHAs and won 56% of the popular vote. The development of the
Muskrat Falls project, along with other natural resource developments, and the reining in of public spending dominated her time as premier. As well Dunderdale faced many questions about her leadership and communication skills as public support for her and her government declined significantly during her three years in office. In the lead up to the 2012 budget, Dunderdale and her ministers began to warn the public of looming spending cuts to rein in projected multi-year deficits. Dunderdale said her government had a goal of finding $100 million in savings. When the budget was released on 24 April 2012, it contained few cuts and government spending increased by 1.7%. Finance Minister Tom Marshall said that instead of making large cuts all at once that the government would embark on a "core mandate analysis" to restrain spending growth for the next ten years. The government forecasted that they would run a deficit of $258 million for the 2012–2013 fiscal year. In June 2012, Dunderdale's government brought forth controversial legislation, known as Bill 29, that reformed the province's Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The legislation received widespread criticism from opposition parties, the public and experts in the field of access to information laws. Bill 29 was passed in the House of Assembly after a four-day
filibuster by opposition parties. Three months after the bill was passed longtime MHA and former cabinet minister
Tom Osborne announced he was leaving the PC caucus due to dissatisfaction with Dunderdale's leadership and his opposition to Bill 29, which he had voted for. On 17 December 2012, Dunderdale along with Emera Energy announced they had both officially sanctioned the Muskrat Falls project, two years after the project was first announced. While the Dunderdale government and the PC Party fared well in opinion polling conducted throughout 2012 their support trended downwards. In December 2012, a CRA poll showed support for the Progressive Conservatives was at 46%, a drop of 14 percentage points in a year. The same poll showed satisfaction with government stood at 58%, down from 75% in a December 2011 poll. Dunderdale's personal numbers took the biggest hit. Only 36% of people thought Dunderdale was the best choice for premier, down from 59% in a year. In January 2013, Dunderdale shuffled
Jerome Kennedy into the finance portfolio as her government once again warned of large spending cuts. When Kennedy delivered his budget on 26 March 2013, he announced the government would run a $563.8 million deficit for the 2013 fiscal year. The budget included $300 million in spending cuts and saw 1,200 public sector jobs eliminated. Dissatisfaction with Dunderdale and her government increased significantly after the release of the 2013 budget. In the first public opinion poll released after the budget, 65% of respondents said they were dissatisfied with the government's performance. Only 21% felt Dunderdale was the best choice for premier, behind the other two party leaders, and the Progressive Conservative Party fell to third place. Despite a number of big wins for her government throughout the last half of 2013, Dunderdale struggle to regain the ground she had lost in public opinion following that year's budget. In September her government announced a tentative deal had been reached with
NAPE, the province's largest public sector union. Earlier in the year Carol Furlong, the president of NAPE, warned that the union had a war chest built up if a strike was necessary. Her government reached agreements with several other unions throughout the remainder of the year. In October she joined officials with
Husky Energy to announce that the company would build a new offshore oil platform for the West White Rose Extension in
Placentia. Only weeks later her government announced the benefits they had negotiated as part of the Canada's
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the
European Union, particularly with regards to the fishery. The provincial government agreed to eliminate minimum process requirement for the European Union in exchange for the elimination of high tariffs on seafood. Days later Dunderdale and her ministers were joined with fishing industry officials to announce that as part of the free trade agreement the provincial and federal governments would invest $400 million into the fishery over three years. In December she announced all financing for the Muskrat Falls was in place, with the province borrowing $5-billion, with a 40-year term at 3.8% interest. While her government's satisfaction increased throughout the last quarter of 2013, there was little change in Dunderdale's personal numbers or support for the Progressive Conservative Party. A CRA poll released in December showed the party had move back into second place, due to a collapse in NDP support, but the gap between them and the first place Liberals increased significantly. The Progressive Conservatives polled at 29% compared to 52% for the Liberals and 19% for the NDP. Dunderdale faced many questions about her leadership but stated numerous times she was not resigning before the next election. In early January 2014, the province experienced wide spread power outages that effected 190,000 customers. The outages were a result of cold temperatures coupled with problems at generating facilities. The outages lasted for several days which caused businesses to close and delayed the opening of schools and post-secondary institutes following their Christmas break. Dunderdale faced criticism for not addressing the public until several days after rolling blackouts began. When she did address the public Dunderdale was accused of downplaying the significance of the blackouts. Former cabinet minister
Shawn Skinner said Dunderdale lacked empathy and compassion when stating that there was no crisis. After weeks of outrage over her handling of the power issue, which saw a PC MHA cross the floor to the Liberals, it was reported that Dunderdale was returning early from vacation to announce her resignation. On 22 January 2014, Dunderdale announced her resignation as premier in the lobby of the
Confederation Building, stating "just as you know when it's time to step up, you also know when it is time to step back, and that time for me is now." Dunderdale said that Finance Minister
Tom Marshall would succeed her as premier and become interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives while the party held a leadership convention to find a permanent successor.
Marshall era (2014) Marshall was sworn in as the 11th Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador on 24 January 2014. During Marshall's eight months as premier he reversed several controversial decisions the government made while Dunderdale was premier. Five days after being sworn in Marshall announced that he would be striking a committee to review the province's access to information laws due to the backlash the government had received since Bill 29 was adopted in June 2012. He later announced an "Open Government Initiative" to share more data and information online. In March 2014, Marshall announced his government would also establish an oversight committee for the Muskrat Falls project. The committee would be made up of senior bureaucrats and would release quarterly updates on the project to the public. During the Spring sitting of the legislature his government passed whistleblower legislation to protect public sector employees.. Whistleblower legislation was promised during the 2007 election but the government repeatedly delayed enacting it under both Williams and Dunderdale. Marshall also announced that a new hospital to be built in
Corner Brook would provide cancer treatment. The government had previously said the population of the region did not warrant
radiation therapy or a
Positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. Following Marshall's announcement that both would be part of the new hospital he shuffled
Susan Sullivan out of the Health portfolio. Sullivan, who had defended the decision to not offer the services, was replaced by
Paul Davis. On 2 September 2014, Marshall and Finance Minister Charlene Johnson held a news conference with multiple union leaders to announce that they had negotiated a deal to reform pension plans for the majority of public sector employees. The government had spoken of the need to reform pension plans for years. As of 31 March 2014, the pension liabilities and other post-retirement benefits made up 74% of Newfoundland and Labrador's $9.8 billion net debt. Reforms to the plan included increased contributions by employers and government beginning 1 January 2015, over five years the retirement age will increase to 58 and employees will need to 10 years of service to qualify for a pension rather than five years. The unions and government will jointly manage the fund with the creation of a new corporation and it is expected the plans will be fully funded within 30 years. While polling showed a significant increase in government satisfaction and high approval ratings for Marshall, the Progressive Conservative Party was unable to regain the support it had lost during Dunderdale's tenure as premier. A CRA poll conducted throughout August 2014, showed that 62% of those polled were satisfied with the government's performance under Marshall. This number was consistent with other polls conducted by CRA during Marshall's time as premier. An Angus Reid Global poll ranking the popularity of Canadian premiers placed Marshall as the third most popular premier in the country, with a 59% approval rating. CRA placed support for the PC Party at 33% in February 2014—a four-point increase since November 2013—but support fell over the next two quarters. The party's support fell to 29% in May and fell again to 26% in August. It is believed that Davis is the first premier in Canadian history to have previously worked as a Police Officer. At the swearing in ceremony for his cabinet on 30 September 2014, Davis announced that the Department of Justice would now be titled the Department of Public Safety and that the Fire and Emergency Services portfolio would now fall under the department. In a surprise move Davis announced that St. John's lawyer
Judy Manning would serve as the department's new minister, despite not being an elected member of the House of Assembly. Davis received criticism for dropping justice from the department's name as well as the appointment of Manning, due to her being unelected and not willing to seek a seat in the House of Assembly until the next election. Representative from the provincial branch of the Canadian Bar Association met with Davis on 10 October 2014, to question him on why the former Department of Justice was replaced with the Department of Public Safety. Following the meeting Davis announced the department would be renamed the Department of Justice and Public Safety. On 15 January 2015, Davis announced that the House of Assembly would be opening the following week so that his government could bring forth legislation to reduce the number of
electoral districts in the province by 8. Under the province's current legislation a committee was supposed to be set up in 2016 to review electoral boundaries. Davis announced he was speeding up the process in order to reduce the number of districts before the next election, which is supposed to be called by September 2015. Previously there were 48 electoral districts in the province. His government expects that by reducing the number to 40 the government will save $10 million over four years. Along with reducing the number of electoral districts, the Davis government will also review MHA pension plans and identify measures to increase the participation of elected members in the House of Assembly. On 29 April 2015, Davis along with his Minister of Health and Community Services and Minister of Seniors, Wellness and Social Development announced a plan to partner with private and non-profit providers to create 360 long-term care beds throughout the island portion of the province. A private or non-profit provider would construct and operate new long-term care facilities and the provincial government would pay a per-bed fee. The Davis government hired
Partnerships BC - a crown corporation in British Columbia specializing in public private partnerships - to facilitate between government and the potential providers. The move was condemned by the public sector unions who called the move an attack on their workers. On 22 October 2015, Davis announced the Downpayment Assistance Program, to be administered by the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation. The program was a two-year pilot project which provided downpayment loans to first-time homebuyers who have low-to-moderate incomes. Applicants must have a household income of $65,000 or less. The downpayment loans range from between $4,500 and $12,500 and successful applicants will not have to begin repaying their loans until five years after the purchase of their home.
Opposition (2015–2025) :
See: 2018 Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership election2023 Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership election Following the
2015 provincial election, the Progressive Conservative Party was reduced to only 7 seats after previously controlling the government since 2003. In 2016, Paul Davis announced his resignation following the election of a new leader. On 28 April 2018 lawyer
Ches Crosbie defeated Health Authority CEO Tony Wakeham to succeed outgoing leader Paul Davis. The leadership convention operated under a mixed vote-points system in which a hundred points were awarded in each of the 40 districts across the province, based on the percentage of vote each candidate won. The final tally was Crosbie with 2,298.92 and Wakeham with 1,701.08 points respectively. Following the election of Crosbie as leader in April 2018, Davis announced he would resign as Leader of the Opposition. Since Crosbie does not have a seat in the House of Assembly, MHA
David Brazil was appointed Leader of the Opposition on 14 May 2018. On 20 September 2018 Crosbie won the district of Windsor Lake in a by-election, therefore becoming Leader of the Opposition. In November 2018, Davis resigned as MHA. Crosbie led the party into the
2019 provincial election with the party increasing its seat count from 7 to 15. The PCs finished 1% behind the Liberals in the popular vote and the Ball government was reduced to a minority. Crosbie led the party into the
2021 provincial election. He was personally defeated in his district of
Windsor Lake; while the party lost one other seat, electing 13 MHAs. The Liberals under
Furey won a majority government. On 31 March 2021, Crosbie resigned as leader and MHA
David Brazil was appointed interim Leader and interim Leader of the Opposition.
Wakeham era (2023–present) On 14 October 2023, MHA
Tony Wakeham was elected leader. On 30 January 2024, Liberal candidate
Fred Hutton was elected in the
Conception Bay East - Bell Island by-election, gaining the seat from the Progressive Conservatives. On 15 April 2024, the Fogo Island-Cape Freels by-election was held. Progressive Conservative candidate Jim McKenna was elected, gaining the seat from the Liberals. On 27 May 2024, Progressive Conservative candidate
Lin Paddock was elected in the
Baie Verte-Green Bay by-election, gaining the seat from the Liberals. On 16 July 2024, MHA Lela Evans rejoined the PC Party. Wakeham led his party to a majority government in the
2025 Newfoundland and Labrador general election, in a major political upset. The party made gains in the rural areas of the province, while gaining no seats in
St. John's. ==Ideologies and policies==