John Abbott promises to 'tell it like it is' at launch for Liberal leadership
Abbott was first out of gate in announcing his intentions to run for leadership
Liberal leadership candidate John Abbott formally launched his campaign Thursday morning, hopping in the ring with Andrew Furey
Furey was first out of the gate, officially entering the race at a packed Tuesday evening event that included most of the current Liberal cabinet.
Though he'll be the second to officially enter, Abbott was the first to say he intended to run.
"We need a leader, a premier, who is prepared to tell it like it is, and who has the experience, skills and the know-how to get the job done," Abbott said at the Sheraton Hotel in St. John's.
"Time is not on our side. The challenges before us are huge. And without bold and immediate action, the task gets greater with every passing day."
Abbott said the Liberal Party has lost its vision, and residents are worried about their communities and the province's financial situation.
"The province needs a government it can trust, leadership that is transparent and accountable, and in it for the good of the people," he said.
Abbott said as leader of the Liberal Party, he would focus on four areas:
- Developing a plan to stabilize electricity rates, address the deficit, and support growth.
- Improving health and education, along with other social outcomes.
- Protecting the province's environment, culture and quality of life.
- Changing the way the party operates both as a party and as government, and in its relationships with Indigenous communities.
Making the jump
The 63-year-old has never run for public office before, but has a long history with the government of Newfoundland and Labrador, serving under former premier Danny Williams as deputy minister of health, and again under outgoing Premier Dwight Ball after the Liberals ran away with the 2015 election.
He would later be removed from his role in the health portfolio and shifted into an advisory role, a move he believes was due to controversial comments he made two years ago about too many nurses taking too much sick leave and about how doctors could be more efficient.
Abbott says growing up money was tight. You have to realize you can’t have everything you want. <br>Abbott says we don’t want a federal bailout, we need “bold decisive action in key areas” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nlpoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nlpoli</a>
—@PeterCBCAbbott has also worked in senior roles in other provincial government departments, including Transportation and Works, Service NL, Municipal Affairs and Finance.
He is currently the CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association Newfoundland and Labrador.
Haggie may lend support
Despite those controversial comments about the province's health-care system, it's possible Abbott may get the support of Health Minister John Haggie. Both Haggie and fellow Liberal MHA Perry Trimper were at Abbott's launch.
Haggie said he's not ready to throw all of his support behind Furey until he hears from the rest of candidate hopefuls, and he attneded Furey's campaign launch Tuesday
Abbott served under Haggie in the province's Department of Health and Community Services.
"I am going to hear what a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party — the party I belong to, the party I'm here because of — has to say, and I would expect everybody, quite honestly, who's free, to do the same," Haggie said Wednesday.
"I am here as a voter with an open mind. You have got to sell me your vision of Newfoundland and Labrador and your vision of the Liberal Party to get my vote."
The party's new leader will be chosen at the annual Liberal Party convention on May 9 in St. John's.
With files from Anthony Germain and Peter Cowan