Paul Alfred Davis (born June 17, 1961) is a Canadian politician who was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador and Leader of the Opposition in the province. Davis served as the 12th premier of Newfoundland and Labrador from September 26, 2014, to December 14, 2015. He was the member of the House of Assembly for Topsail-Paradise from 2015 to 2018, previously representing Topsail from 2010 to 2015.
Davis won the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives at the 2014 leadership convention on September 13, 2014, and was subsequently sworn in as premier. Previous to this he had served as Minister of Health and Community Services, Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services, Minister of Transportation and Works, and Minister of Service NL. Prior to entering cabinet in 2011, he served as the Legislative Assistant for the Department of Municipal Affairs. Before entering provincial politics Davis was the media relations officer for the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) and the Deputy Mayor of Conception Bay South.
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Background
Davis was born on June 17, 1961. He joined the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) in 1985, after graduating from Holland College. Between 1987 and 1992 Davis worked with Corner Brook Division of the Constabulary, before being reassigned to the Criminal Investigation Division in St. John's. During his service with the RNC he also had assignment in Property Crimes, Major Crimes and the Child Abuse Sexual Assault Units. Davis became the RNC Media Relations Officer in 2006, and served in that role until he entered provincial politics. When Davis retired from police work in 2010, his accolades include a Crime Stoppers Police Officer of the Year award and a Police Exemplary Service Medal.
Davis was also a town councillor in the St. John's area municipality of Conception Bay South, and reached the position of Deputy Mayor. He was first elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2005 and 2009.
Davis's wife Cheryl, a realtor, was elected to the Conception Bay South town council in the 2017 elections as a Councillor-At-Large.
Provincial politics
Following the appointment of member of the House of Assembly Elizabeth Marshall to the Canadian Senate, Davis announced he would seek the Progressive Conservative nomination in her former district of Topsail. In a four-person race for the nomination, Davis was easily elected as the party's candidate, winning 882 out of 1215 ballots cast. The following month Davis was elected to the House of Assembly after winning 82 per cent of the popular vote in the by-election. He subsequently resigned as a member of the RNC and was sworn in as the member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for Topsail on April 5, 2010. On July 27, 2010, Premier Danny Williams appointed Davis as the Legislative Assistant for the Department of Municipal Affairs.
On May 12, 2011, Davis was acclaimed as the Progressive Conservatives candidate in Topsail for that October's general election. Just weeks later in early June, Davis announced that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in April. Due to his illness he would be unable to make public appearances till he finished his cancer treatments, and would work from his home. Due to his battle with cancer Davis was unable to campaign in public during the October election, despite this was re-elected with 68 per cent of the popular vote.
Minister of Service NL
On October 28, 2011, Premier Kathy Dunderdale appointed Davis as the Minister of Service NL and Minister Responsible for the Government Purchasing Agency, Office of the Chief Information Officer, and the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission.
Minister of Transportation and Works
In a cabinet shuffle held on October 19, 2012, Davis became the Minister of Transportation and Works and Minister Responsible for the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation.
In February 2013, Davis announced that the government would decommission and sell the MV Nonia, a ferry that was purchased by the previous Liberal government in 1999. The ferry was purchased for $1 million and had been plagued with problems, with $18 million having been spent over the years to keep it afloat. In March it was revealed that the government had spent $3 million in repairs on the Nonia only months before the decision was made to sell it. The ferry ended up being sold for just $76,222.
In May 2013, Davis announced changes to the Green Bay ferry service. In an effort to find savings, the dock at Shoal Arm would no longer be a stop on the ferry route. The route would now include only Pilley's Island, Long Island, and Little Bay Islands. In 2011–2012, the 45 minute sailing between Little Bay Islands and Shoal Arm had an average ridership of just three vehicles and five passengers.
Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services
On October 9, 2013, Davis was appointed Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services. The following week Davis announced that the department would start flying social workers into the isolated Innu community of Natuashish on a rotational basis, two weeks in and two weeks out, to help resolve issues in recruitment. Earlier the year the chief of the community went to the media after he found seven children under the age of 12 in a house by themselves inhaling gas.
On December 3, 2013, Davis announced changes to the provinces adoption law. By modernizing the law Davis stated that the government would “streamline and expedite” the adoption system. The changes saw the definition of relative expanded; great-aunts and great-uncles will be able to adopt children through a simpler process. Changes were made to make it easier for an adopted person to reunite with their parents or relatives, once they reach adulthood. As well adult adoptions can now occur because of the updated legislation. This allows for step-children to be adopted by a parent to receive such things as health benefits or inheritance, and allows for people to adopt a person in their care who is developmentally delayed.
Minister of Health and Community Services
On May 1, 2014, Premier Tom Marshall held a cabinet shuffle and appointed Davis as the Minister of Health and Community Services, replacing Susan Sullivan. Davis' appointment came after the government reversed a previous decision to provide cancer treatment at a new hospital in Corner Brook. Sullivan had stated for years that the population in the Corner Brook area did not warrant radiation therapy or a Positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. However, Marshall, who was sworn in as premier in January 2014, announced that both radiation therapy and a PET scanner would be part of the new hospital. In June 2014, Davis along with Marshall announced a company had been hired to evaluate the best plan for providing radiation therapy at the Corner Brook hospital.
Davis resigned as Minister of Health and Community Services on July 2, 2014, to seek the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Party leadership
On January 24, 2014, Kathy Dunderdale resigned as Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. Davis announced days later that he would not be a candidate in the race to succeed her. He later stated that he ruled out a bid in January because of health issues related to his 2011 cancer diagnosis. Businessman Frank Coleman eventually became the lone candidate in the race and was expected to be sworn in as party leader on July 5, 2014. However, on June 18, 2014, Coleman announced that due to a health issue in his family he would not takeover as party leader or as premier. The party cancelled their July convention and scheduled a new leadership convention for September 13, 2014.
On July 2, 2014, Davis launched his bid for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party at an event in Paradise. Davis received endorsements from 14 members of the Progressive Conservative caucus, including eight cabinet ministers. He was also endorsed by several former politicians, including former party leaders Len Simms and Loyola Sullivan. Davis was generally perceived as being the frontrunner in the race, which was also contested by former ministers Steve Kent and John Ottenheimer.
On August 8, 2014, Abacus Data released an opinion poll that showed Davis was the favourite among the public to win the leadership of the PC Party. 34 per cent of those polled said they would select Davis as leader if they were casting a vote in the leadership race. Kent placed second with the support of 27 per cent and Ottenheimer was third with of 21 per cent. 18 per cent of those polled were undecided. Among those who voted PC in the 2011 election 40 per cent picked Davis as their choice for leader. Kent had the support of 26 per cent, Ottenheimer was third with 24 per cent and 10 per cent were undecided. Abacus also asked those surveyed which party they would vote for in a provincial election under each leadership candidate. Davis performed better than both Kent and Ottenheimer, but under his leadership the PC Party would still trail the Liberals. With Davis at the helm, 46 per cent of respondents would vote Liberal, 38 per cent would vote PC and 16 per cent would vote NDP.
Davis won the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party with 52% of the vote on an unexpected third ballot at the party's convention on September 13, 2014. Davis trailed Ottenheimer on the first ballot by 36 votes, Kent finished third and dropped off the ballot. Kent immediately announced he was throwing his support behind Davis. When the second ballot votes were announced chief electoral officer John Noseworthy announced there was no clear majority. Davis received 340 votes, Ottenhimer won 339 and there was one spoiled ballot. Davis won a clear majority on third ballot receiving 351 votes of the 678 cast.
Premiership (2014-15)
Davis was sworn in as the 12th Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador on September 26, 2014. It is believed that Davis is the first premier in Canadian history to have previously worked as a police officer.
During his swearing in ceremony Davis stated that one of his first priorities will be to strike an advisory committee on crime, which he had promised during his leadership bid. The commitment came after an 11-year-old boy had been stabbed the previous evening while participating in a skills competition on a soccer field near Davis' district of Topsail. Davis, who went to the soccer field following the stabbing, acknowledged the victim in his first speech as premier. He later told reporters that the advisory committee would bring together people involved in corrections, law enforcement, mental health and advocacy.
At the swearing in ceremony for his cabinet on September 30, 2014, Davis announced that the Department of Justice would now be titled the Department of Public Safety and that the Fire and Emergency Services portfolio would now fall under the department. In a surprise move Davis announced that St. John's lawyer Judy Manning would serve as the department's new minister, despite not being an elected member of the House of Assembly. Davis received criticism for dropping justice from the department's name as well as the appointment of Manning, due to her being unelected and not willing to seek a seat in the House of Assembly until the next election. Representative from the provincial branch of the Canadian Bar Association met with Davis on October 10, 2014, to question him on why the former Department of Justice was replaced with the Department of Public Safety. Following the meeting Davis announced the department would be renamed the Department of Justice and Public Safety.
In February 2015, Manning announced that negotiations between her and the City of St. John's had reached an impasse regarding the St. John's Regional Fire Department (SJRFD) being the Public Safety Answering Point for 911 service on the Avalon Peninsula. As part of a new province-wide 911 service the SJRFD was expected to provide the service to the entire Avalon Peninsula as opposed to just the St. John's Metro Area, where they had been providing the service for 40 years. The issues that led to the impasse were control over the operating budget and intellectual property rights. Manning stated that she had already spoken to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary about them being the Public Safety Answering Point in the event an agreement could not be reached with the SJRFD. Davis stepped in and announced that he would meet with St. John's Mayor Dennis O'Keefe regarding the negotiations. Following their meeting it was announced that an agreement had been reached for the SJRFD to be the Public Safety Answering Point for the entire Avalon Peninsula.
Leader of the Opposition (2015-2018)
Following the 2015 election, the Progressive Conservative Party was reduced to only 7 seats after previously controlling the government since 2003. Davis continued as the party's leader until 2018 and served as Leader of the Opposition.
Davis's support did not change much since the election, however support for Premier Dwight Ball dropped below support for Davis. A poll in June 2016 showed that Davis was the most popular of the 3 party leaders with support from 35% of respondents. However, another poll suggested that his party's approval was below that of the New Democratic Party led by Earle McCurdy.
On October 11, 2016, Davis announced his plan to step down as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. He sent a letter to PC Party president Mark Whiffen requesting a leadership convention be held to elect a new leader. Davis, who had been facing a leadership review at the party's upcoming Annual General Meeting, stated that he would remain leader until his successor was chosen. Following the election of Davis's successor on April 28, 2018, Davis stated that he will remain as the MHA for Topsail-Paradise until at least the end of the current sitting of the House of Assembly in June.
On May 13, 2018, Davis announced he would resign as Leader of the Opposition. As the new party leader, Ches Crosbie, did not have a seat in the House of Assembly, MHA David Brazil was appointed Leader of the Opposition on May 14, 2018. On October 18, Davis announced his resignation as MHA effective November 2, 2018.
Federal politics
In October 2020, Davis announced that he would seek the federal Conservative nomination for Avalon and run in the 2021 Canadian federal election. On December 17, 2020, it was announced that Davis had lost the nomination to Matthew Chapman, the 2019 candidate in the riding. In 2021, he was appointed executive director of the Gathering Place.
Electoral record
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