Felix Collins
| The Honourable Felix Collins | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs of Newfoundland and Labrador | |
|
Assumed office October 19, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Nick McGrath |
| Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Newfoundland and Labrador | |
|
In office October 2009 – October 19, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Marshall |
| Succeeded by | Darin King |
| Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for Placentia - St. Mary's | |
|
In office 2006 – November 27, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Fabian Manning |
| Succeeded by | Sherry Gambin-Walsh |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
St. Anne's, Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Residence | Mount Pearl |
Felix Collins MHA, is a Canadian educator, lawyer and politician from Newfoundland and Labrador, and the province's Attorney General. Collins has served as the member of the House of Assembly for Placentia—St. Mary’s since winning a 2006 by-election for the Progressive Conservatives.
Collins entered cabinet in 2009 when he was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General. In 2012, he became Minister of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs. The following year Collins left cabinet when his portfolio was merged with other departments, only to re-enter cabinet months later when he was named Attorney General by Premier Tom Marshall.[1]
Education
Collins graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland with a bachelor of arts degree in education in 1964 and a bachelor of arts degree in 1968. He completed is masters in education in 1972 at the University of Boston. In 1995, Collins completand a bachelor of laws degree from the University of Ottawa.[2]
Career
Collins worked as a school principal, teacher, coordinator and a superintendent of education until retirement in 1992, at which time he entered law school. In April 1996, he was called to the Newfoundland Bar and is a member of the Law Society of Newfoundland, he practiced law in St. John’s until 2007.[2]
Politics
Collins was Mayor of the Town of Placentia for sixteen years and a member of the Placentia Council for nineteen years. He was chairperson of the first Joint Councils of the Placentia area and served as Chairperson of the Placentia Area Recreation Commission. He was one of the founding directors of the Placentia Health Care Board, and served eight years as its vice-president. He served six years on the Board of Directors of Marine Atlantic.
In February 2006, Collins was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for the District of Placentia—St. Mary’s in a by-election, replacing Fabian Manning who had been removed from the Progressive Conservative caucus. Collins was re-elected in the 2007 provincial election.
Collins is a member of the Progressive Conservative Party and as Member of the House of Assembly (MHA) he served as Deputy Chair of Committees, Chair of the Elections and Privileges Committee, and a Member of the Public Accounts Committee. He has also served as Legislative Advisor to the Minister of Natural Resources and as Commissioner for the St. John’s Urban Region (Agricultural) Development Area Boundary Review. In a cabinet shuffle in October 2009, Premier Danny Williams appointed him to serve as Newfoundland and Labrador's Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
Collins remained Justice Minister and Attorney General under Premier Kathy Dunderdale until October 19, 2012, when he was demoted and became Minister of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs.[3] Following the 2013, provincial budget, which saw major spending cuts throughout government, it was announced that Collins' cabinet post would be eliminated. Effective June 1, 2013, Premier Dunderdale would take over the Intergovernmental Affairs portfolio, while an Office of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs would be created.[4]
Election results
| Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2011 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Progressive Conservative | Felix Collins | 2,516 | 49.86% | – | |
| NDP | Trish Dodd | 1,475 | 29.23% | ||
| Liberal | Todd Squires | 1,055 | 20.91% | ||
| Total | 100.0% | ||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2007[5] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Progressive Conservative | Felix Collins | 3,086 | 79.17% | – | |
| NDP | Jennifer Coultas | 812 | 20.83% | ||
| Total | 3,098 | 100.0% | |||
| Newfoundland and Labrador provincial by-election, February 21, 2006: Placentia—St. Mary’s | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Felix Collins | 2,247 | 46.3 | |||||
| Independent | Nick Careen | 1,641 | 33.8 | |||||
| Liberal | Kevin Power | 931 | 19.2 | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador First | Tom Hickey | 31 | 0.6 | |||||
| Total | 4,850 | |||||||
| By-election called upon the resignation of Fabian Manning | ||||||||
References
- ↑ "Premier Announces Changes to Cabinet". Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- 1 2 "Felix Collins Biography". Progressive Conservative Party Website. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
- ↑ "Dunderdale shuffles the deck". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ↑ McLeod, James (5 April 2013). "Felix Collins unsure about future as premier cuts cabinet". The Charter. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ↑ Newfoundland & Labrador Votes 2007. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved May 22, 2009.