Kevin Aylward

Political career

Born in 1960 in Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland and Labrador, Aylward was 24 years old when first elected as a Member of the House of Assembly (MHA) in the 1985 provincial election. He held several cabinet portfolios in the 1990s and early 2000s, including Environment and Labour, Forest Resources and Agrifoods, Tourism, Culture and Recreation, and Environment.

Environment Minister

Aylward held the Environment portfolio and four other portfolios . He was sworn into cabinet in 1994 as Minister of the Environment in the Clyde Wells government, and in 1996 Premier Brian Tobin appointed him the Minister of Environment and Labour. After holding several other portfolios between 1997 and 2002, he was once again sworn in as Environment Minister under Premier Roger Grimes.

Leader

On August 12, 2011, Aylward announced his bid for the leadership of Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. On August 14, the executives of the party chose Aylward as leader of the party, over six other candidates, citing his experience as a former MHA and cabinet minister as a key reason for selecting him.

On the night that Aylward was selected as leader his chief rival for the leadership, Bern Coffey, left the news conference soon after Aylward was named leader. Coffey had planned on seeking the Liberal nomination in St. John's East, but stated he would meet with Aylward later that week and that depending on how the meeting went he would think about running in that district. Coffey did not run for the party in the election. Rodney Martin, who also ran for the leadership, said that while he would not rule out running in the election he would have a tough time running under Aylward. Leadership candidates Ryan Lane and Brad Cabana had already been nominated to run under the party's banner in October. Three days after Aylward was selected as leader the Liberal Party's candidate for Terra Nova announced he would not be running for the party any longer because he did not agree with the direction the party was heading in under Aylward's leadership.

In the October election the Progressive Conservatives won their third straight majority. While the Liberals managed to remain the Official Opposition, they placed third in the popular vote winning only 19.1 per cent. On October 26, 2011, Aylward announced his resignation as leader after failing to win the district of St. George's-Stephenville East.

Public opinion

Upon becoming party leader, public opinion polls showed that the Liberal Party had fallen to third place, for the first time in its history, behind the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) and the New Democratic Party (NDP). A Corporate Research Associates (CRA) poll conducted immediately after Aylward became leader showed the party's support was at 22%, compared to 24% for the NDP and 54% for the Progressive Conservatives. Another poll conducted by MarketQuest Omnifacts Research (MQO), the weekend before the dropping of the writ for the election, showed that the Liberals were supported by 18%, 11 points behind the NDP who were at 29%. The PC Party held a large lead over both parties at 53%. Aylward's personal popularity also lagged behind NDP leader Lorraine Michael and PC leader Kathy Dunderdale in both polls. 16% of respondents in the CRA poll thought Michael was the best choice to be premier, while 14% of those surveyed in the MQO poll thought he was the best choice. After a controversial statement by a Liberal candidate and following the televised leaders debate, an MQO poll released on September 30, showed that the Liberal Party's support continued to fall. Support for the Liberals had fallen by 5 points to 13%, compared to 33% for the NDP. The PC Party moved up 1 point to 54%, while 18% remained undecided. When it came to the best choice for premier only 11% thought Aylward was the best choice, compared to 27% who thought Michael was and 62% who though Dunderdale was. Only 6% of those polled thought Aylward was the winner of the debate.