Preceded by Dianne Whalen Preceded by Dianne Whalen Residence Gander, Canada | Preceded by Sandra Kelly Preceded by Danny Williams Succeeded by Steve Kent | |
Born August 25, 1956 (age 60)
Ferryland, Newfoundland and Labrador ( 1956-08-25 ) Political party Progressive Conservative Occupation Pharmacist, Businessman Party Conservative Party of Canada Previous office Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly (2003–2015) | ||
Kevin George O'Brien MHA, (born August 25, 1956) is a Canadian businessman, pharmacist and politician in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He served as the province's Minister of Advanced Education and Skills. O'Brien was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) in 2003, representing the district of Gander until his resignation in 2015. He resigned his provincial seat on July 3, 2015 to run federally in the 2015 federal election.
Politics
O'Brien was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party in 2003 representing the district of Gander. He was appointed to Cabinet in July 2006, becoming the Minister of Business. Following his re-election in 2007, O'Brien was shuffled into the portfolio of Government Services. With the death of fellow Municipal Affairs Minister Dianne Whalen in October 2010 O'Brien was shuffled out of the Government Services portfolio and into Municipal Affairs.
In September 2013, O'Brien was accused by the Gander Chamber of Commerce of threatening to slow down construction of a new school in Gander if NDP representatives were allowed to be present at a community breakfast. The Chamber of Commerce also alleged that O'Brien had made similar threats in the past.
On October 9, 2013, O'Brien was shuffled to Minister of Advanced Education. In March 2015, O'Brien resigned from cabinet. In July 2015, O'Brien resigned his provincial seat to run for the federal Conservative party in the riding of Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame in the 2015 federal election. On October 19, 2015, O'Brien was defeated in the federal election by Liberal incumbent Scott Simms.