John Abbott, with 5 MHAs at his side, proves he's not alone in his bid for Liberal leadership
Abbott will get his fingers wrapped for holding an unapproved political event outside the legislature
John Abbott may not have the Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party machinery in his corner as he contends for the leadership, but the St. John's East-Quidi Vidi MHA proved this week that his competitor, John Hogan, is not the only one with high-profile support.
Abbott entered the scrum area outside the House of Assembly on Wednesday with five Liberal MHAs — three of whom are members of Premier Andrew Furey's cabinet — at his side in order to address the assembled media who were covering proceedings in the legislature.
In a highly politicized event, each MHA — Lisa Dempster, Scott Reid, Sarah Stoodley, Perry Trimper and Lucy Stoyles — stepped up to the microphone and gave their endorsement to Abbott. They praised him for his policy expertise, experience as a public servant and elected politician, thrifty approach to public spending and his team-first style of decision-making.
But it turns out that Abbott was breaching House of Assembly protocol by staging an event linked to party politics inside what's known as the parliamentary precinct.
"The House of Assembly was unaware of the scrum area being used for that purpose and would not have approved the use of the parliamentary precinct in advance," Bobbi Russell, a spokesperson for the House of Assembly, wrote in a statement to CBC News.
She added that Speaker Derek Bennett "will be speaking to the member to advise of the protocols for use of the precinct."
'Delighted to support him'
So an attempt to show he is a serious candidate in the race to replace Furey didn't go quite as planned, but if the approach was to ask for forgiveness instead of permission, Abbott got the attention he was looking for with complimentary comments like this:
"I'm very impressed with his knowledge, especially all the work he did with housing. I'm certainly delighted to support him," said Stoyles, who represents Mount Pearl North.
"We have talked through many tangly, challenging issues and we've always been able to find a resolution," added Dempster, representing Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
Dempster said that she has worked with Abbott in her capacity as the minister for Labrador affairs, and "whether it was Nain in the north, whether it was Forteau in the south, I was always really impressed with his knowledge."
"If you're successful, I know this province is going to be in great shape," said Trimper, MHA for Lake Melville.
Reid, elected in St. George's-Humber, praised Abbott for his "knowledge, temperament and character."
From zero to five
In 2020, Abbott competed unsuccessfully for the party leadership against Furey, and did not have a single MHA in his corner.
His current bid for the leadership also got off to a low-key start when he announced his candidacy on March 4 in the lobby of Confederation Building. Only a handful of supporters were in attendance, but Abbott did say at the time that some MHAs were supporting him.
By contrast, Windsor Lake MHA John Hogan staged a well-attended and lively leadership announcement at a St. John's hotel on March 6 that was attended by a bevy of Liberal MHAs, who voiced unwavering support for his candidacy, senior political staffers from Furey's office and other influential Liberal organizers.
Abbott admitted that he's not about "gloss and glare."
"Assuming I am premier on May 3, you will see a different style of government in that sense, but we'll stay focused," he said, adding that issues such as the trade war with the United States, health, housing and education are among his top priorities.
Mount Scio MHA Sarah Stoodley said making a decision on who she would throw her support behind was "one of the most emotionally difficult decisions" of her time in politics. But, she said, support for Abbott among her constituents is "overwhelming," and says she's been impressed with him.
"He just gets cut through the noise and works toward a solution," she said, adding that she agrees with Abbott's approach to "fiscal restraint."
"I do see myself and Minister Abbott sharing a lot of commonalities."
WATCH | The CBC's Terry Roberts has more on the support for Abbott:
Both Abbott and Hogan have been approved as leadership candidates by the committee that's running the contest.
The deadline for nominations is March 24, and registered Liberals will select the next party leader — who will automatically become the next premier — during a convention in St. John's that begins on May 2.
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
