Born in
Fleur de Lys,
Newfoundland, Rideout was first elected to the provincial
House of Assembly in the
1975 general election as a
Liberal but left the party in 1980 to join the
Progressive Conservative government of
Premier Brian Peckford in its fight with
Ottawa for control of offshore petroleum resources. Rideout became Minister of Culture, Recreation and Youth in 1984 and became Minister of Fisheries 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. Wells replaced Rideout as Premier and Rideout remained
Leader of the Opposition until October 1991 when he left politics for a federal appointment as a member of the
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Rideout attempted a political comeback in the
1993 federal election, running as the Progressive Conservative candidate in
Gander—Grand Falls, but was defeated by
Liberal incumbent
George Baker. In 1997, he obtained his law degree from the
University of Ottawa, 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, 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 in the
2018 provincial PC leadership race. ==References==