Cathy Bennett

Cathy Bennett is a Canadian businesswomen and politician in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. She represented the electoral district of Virginia Waters in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 2014 to 2018.

Cathy Bennett
Bennett in April 2016.
Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board of Newfoundland and Labrador
In office
December 14, 2015 – July 31, 2017
Preceded byRoss Wiseman
Succeeded byTom Osborne
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
for Windsor Lake
(Virginia Waters; 2014–2015)
In office
May 5, 2014 – August 21, 2018
Preceded byKathy Dunderdale
Succeeded byChes Crosbie
Personal details
Born1964
Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada[1]
Political partyLiberal
Residence(s)St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
OccupationPolitician

Bennett was first elected in a 2014 by-election to succeed former Premier Kathy Dunderdale, who had resigned earlier in the year. She defeated her Progressive Conservative opponent by 40 votes.[2]

In 2013, Bennett ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party, coming in third. She served as Minister of Finance in the Ball government.

Background

Bennett received a High School diploma in 1982.[3]

Bennett is a prominent business person in Newfoundland, owning and operating numerous restaurants throughout the province. She was also a significant contributor and fundraiser for St. John's first Ronald McDonald House. Bennett previously served as the chairperson of the St. John's Board of Trade and governor of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council.[4]

Politics

Minister of Finance

Bennett became Minister of Finance for the provincial government after the Liberal Party won 31 out of 40 seats in the 2015 general election.[5] She was re-elected in the district of Windsor Lake.[6]

On April 14, 2016 Bennett revealed the provincial government's budget which implements austerity measures.[7] She criticized the high amount of spending by the government from 2003-15 led by the Progressive Conservative Party.[8]

Bennett resigned as Finance Minister on July 31, 2017. Bennett continued as a backbencher MHA from July 2017 until August 2018; most notably her involvement in the debate regarding bullying and harassment in the House of Assembly.[9] She resigned on August 21, 2018.[10][11]

Abuse in office

In a 2016 article in the National Observer, Bennett shared that she faces body-shaming and abuse from disappointed constituents.[12] Some of these constituents offered that the best solution to her policy would be kill herself or "All Newfoundlanders should put a bounty on her head. She is a witch." She is quoted saying,"Language that starts with the shaming and the insults and the verbal abuse is the beginning steps that lead to [physical violence]." In 2018, following the suspension of two cabinet ministers for harassment, Bennett stated that her resignation as Finance Minister in 2017 was due to bullying, isolation and gaslighting within the Liberal caucus and cabinet.[13]

Awards and honors

2013 CEO of the Year - Atlantic Business Magazine [14]

2012 Top 25 Women of Influence[15]

Electoral record
2015 Newfoundland and Labrador general election: Windsor Lake
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalCathy Bennett3,18266.40
Progressive ConservativeRyan Cleary97020.24
New DemocraticDon Rowe64013.36
Total valid votes 4,792100.0
Turnout 52.59
Eligible voters 9,088

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Virginia Waters By-election April 9, 2014 On the resignation of Kathy Dunderdale, February 28, 2014
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
LiberalCathy Bennett193239.88+30.33
Progressive ConservativeDanny Breen 1892 39.05 -20.99
  NDP Sheilagh O'Leary 1021 21.07 -9.35
Total valid votes 4,895  
Rejected
Turnout
Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative Swing +25.66
2013 Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership election
Ballot 1 Ballot 2 Ballot 3
Candidate Votes  % Points  % Votes  % Points  % Votes  % Points  %
Dwight Ball 10,944 45.94% 2,130.05 44.38% 11,306 48.45% 2,257.15 47.02% 12,598 60.64% 2,832.29 59.01%
Paul Antle 6,340 26.61% 1,321.15 27.52% 6,600 28.28% 1,397.86 29.12% 8,178 39.36% 1,967.71 40.99%
Cathy Bennett 5,252 22.05% 1,089.05 22.69% 5,431 23.27% 1,144.99 23.85%
Danny Dumaresque 670 2.81% 131.69 2.74%
Jim Bennett 617 2.59% 128.05 2.67%
Total 23,823 100.00 4,800.00 100.00 23,337 100.00 4,800.00 100.00 20,776 100.00 4,800.00 100.00

References
  1. "Saltwire | Newfoundland & Labrador".
  2. "Cathy Bennett wins Virginia Waters byelection". CBC News. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  3. "At the Top: From McJobs to Atlantic Canada advocacy". The Globe and Mail. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  4. "About Cathy". CathyBennett.ca. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  5. "Dwight Ball, new Liberal cabinet sworn in at Government House". CBC News. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  6. "Ryan Cleary says 7 seats 'good news' for PCs despite own loss". CBC News. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  7. "A budget to drive Newfoundlanders away - Macleans.ca".
  8. "N.L. budget blame game begins | CBC News".
  9. "Cathy Bennett to resign as MHA from Newfoundland and Labrador legislature | SaltWire".
  10. "Party leaders spar over who should replace Cathy Bennett". CBC News. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  11. "Ball, Crosbie come out swinging ahead of Windsor Lake byelection; NDP meets with displaced workers". The Telegram. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  12. "Body shamed, threatened and bullied: Finance minister exposes online abuse". 12 December 2016.
  13. "Cathy Bennett calls out bullying by Liberals; not in my cabinet, says Dwight Ball | CBC News".
  14. "2013 Top 50 CEO Award Winners | Atlantic Business Magazine". www.atlanticbusinessmagazine.net. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  15. "Women of Influence". Retrieved 2015-10-29.
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