Bernard Lord
Encyclopedia
Bernard Lord, ONB
Order of New Brunswick
The Order of New Brunswick is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Instituted in 2000 by Lieutenant Governor Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bernard Lord, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended...

, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

, (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 politician and lobbyist. Lord served as the 30th Premier
Premier of New Brunswick
The Premier of New Brunswick is the first minister for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. They are the province's head of government and de facto chief executive....

 of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

 from 1999 to 2006.

Early life

Lord was born in Roberval, Quebec
Roberval, Quebec
Roberval is a city on the south-western shore of Lac Saint-Jean in the Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality of Quebec, Canada. With a population of 10,544 in the Canada 2006 Census, it is the third largest city on this lake after Alma and Dolbeau-Mistassini.It is the seat of the...

 and raised in a bilingual household in Moncton, New Brunswick where he would spend the rest of his early life. Lord took a keen interest in politics as a child; he first campaigned for the New Brunswick New Democratic Party
New Brunswick New Democratic Party
The New Brunswick New Democratic Party is a social-democratic provincial political party in New Brunswick, Canada linked with the federal New Democratic Party .-Origins and early history:...

 while a university student but joined the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick
Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick
The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of responsible government to the colony...

 in 1995. After graduating from high school, he earned a bachelor's degree in social science with a major in economics as well as a bachelor's degree in common law from the Université de Moncton
Université de Moncton
The Université de Moncton is a French language university located in Moncton, New Brunswick serving the Acadian community of Atlantic Canada...

. While Lord attended the Université de Moncton, he had some electoral success being elected the president of the Université de Moncton student union (FEUM) and served for three terms. Lord's parents are named Ralph and Émilie (Morin) Lord. Lord has two children. One of his brothers, Roger Lord
Roger Lord
Roger Lord is an internationally acclaimed performing classical pianist and Professor of Piano at l'Université de Moncton in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada....

, is an internationally acclaimed concert pianist.

Election as leader

In 1997, Lord was elected leader of the PC Party of New Brunswick and then became the MLA
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....

 for the district of Moncton East
Moncton East
Moncton East is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to 2007, it has been held by only two individuals both of whom served as Premier of New Brunswick. Ray Frenette, a Liberal who served as premier from 1997 to 1998, represented the district...

 in a 1998 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

. Much of Lord's success came from the countless months he spent meeting party members across New Brunswick and in part because he was also flawlessly bilingual
Bilingualism in Canada
The official languages of Canada are English and French, which "have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada" according to Canada's constitution...

 and being able to draw a strong concentration of support in the Moncton area, one of four cities in which members could vote. Lord defeated Norman Betts
Norman Betts
Norman M. Betts is a Chartered Accountant, university professor, and former provincial politician....

, who was the perceived frontrunner, as well as Margaret-Ann Blaney
Margaret-Ann Blaney
Margaret-Ann Blaney, is a Canadian journalist and politician. She is currently the member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick for the riding of Rothesay .-Early life:...

, who, with Betts, would go on to serve in Lord's cabinet and Cleveland Allaby
Cleveland Allaby
Cleveland Allaby is a Canadian lawyer and politician.He ran for the Canadian House of Commons in the riding of Fredericton as a Progressive Conservative in the 1997 election losing to incumbent Andy Scott by a margin of 34% to 30% in part due to vote splitting between the Progressive Conservatives...

.

Premier

On June 7, 1999, Lord's PC party overcame an early deficit in the polls to pull out a landslide victory in the provincial general election, winning 44 of 55 seats in the legislature. At just 33 years of age, Lord (on June 21) became one of the youngest Premiers in Canadian history.

Using the successful tactics from the 1994 United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 elections of Republican Congressional leader, Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....

, Lord was elected on his "200 Days of Change" platform, consisting of 20 promises of things he would do within the first 200 days of his mandate if he were elected premier. Although he did accomplish all of them, many opponents of Lord argued with him over the ways he accomplished those goals, and that he spent too much time with those 20 promises while neglecting other important matters to the province.

In 2002, Lord delivered what the media and others hailed as an electrifying speech at the national Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

 convention in Edmonton, Alberta, which started speculation that he might run for a job in federal politics, specifically, replacing Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...

 as federal PC leader. A very strong movement of influential conservatives erupted after Edmonton to lobby the Premier into federal politics, everything from a website to a coast to coast organization was being set up to woo the Premier to leave Fredericton and head to Ottawa. A short time later, Lord shot down any notions that that might happen, choosing instead to remain focused on provincial politics and the 2003 New Brunswick election
New Brunswick general election, 2003
The 35th New Brunswick general election was held on June 9, 2003, to elect 55 members to the 55th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada...

.

That election was not kind to Lord, with the Liberals using the issue of rising car insurance to catch the PC Party off guard. The Party wasn't able to regain its footing until relatively late in the campaign, and barely held on to a majority over the Liberal Party led by Shawn Graham
Shawn Graham
Shawn Michael Graham, MLA is a New Brunswick politician, who served as the 31st Premier of New Brunswick. He received a Bachelor of Physical Education Degree in 1991 and a Bachelor of Education Degree in 1993, he worked for New Brunswick's civil service before being elected to the Legislative...

.

Lord was again courted for federal politics in late 2003 when the PC Party of Canada and the Canadian Alliance
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...

 merged into the Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

.

In the end, Lord opted to stay in New Brunswick due to his young family and the fact that his departure would force his party into a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...

 situation.

In 2004, Lord's government came under fire over a variety of unpopular stances, most notably changes to health care. These included closures of beds at hospitals in Miramichi
Miramichi, New Brunswick
Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...

 and Dalhousie
Dalhousie, New Brunswick
Dalhousie is a Canadian town located in Restigouche County, New Brunswick.- History :Dalhousie is the shire town of Restigouche County and dates European settlement to 1800. The Town of Dalhousie has been through some very distinct periods between its founding in 1825 and today...

, and consolidation of four hospitals in the Upper Saint John River Valley into one. The Liberals, under leader Shawn Graham
Shawn Graham
Shawn Michael Graham, MLA is a New Brunswick politician, who served as the 31st Premier of New Brunswick. He received a Bachelor of Physical Education Degree in 1991 and a Bachelor of Education Degree in 1993, he worked for New Brunswick's civil service before being elected to the Legislative...

, led in public opinion polls as of the summer of 2004 and maintained that lead; however, Lord remained the most favoured Leader to be Premier of New Brunswick for a time.

On August 10, 2006, Lord announced that on August 19 he would be calling an election for September 18. This election call was in response to the loss of a caucus member, Peter Mesheau, who announced his intention to resign to work in the private sector. The resignation would have caused Lord to slip into a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...

 and the subsequent by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 could have flipped the balance of power to the Liberals. Lord decided that instead of a by-election deciding the fate of his government, he would let the people choose. Some observers saw Lord's election call as a bold move considering his popularity numbers had only recently started to surpass the Liberal Leader.

In the head to head campaign that followed, Lord lost the government to the Liberals who took 29 seats to 26 for the Conservatives. The Tories did manage to win the popular vote besting the Liberals 47.5% to 47.2%. Lord left the Premier's Office on October 3, 2006.

On December 13, 2006, Lord announced that he was resigning as PC
Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick
The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of responsible government to the colony...

 leader, further he said he would resign his legislative seat
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...

 in Moncton East
Moncton East
Moncton East is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to 2007, it has been held by only two individuals both of whom served as Premier of New Brunswick. Ray Frenette, a Liberal who served as premier from 1997 to 1998, represented the district...

 on January 31, 2007.

Post-Premier

After leaving politics, Lord took a position with the law firm McCarthy Tetrault
McCarthy Tétrault
McCarthy Tétrault LLP is a law firm with offices in Canada’s major commercial centres and in London, UK. It provides business law, litigation, tax, real estate, and labour and employment law services....

 splitting time between their offices in Montreal and Ottawa while continuing to maintain his residence in Fredericton.

On December 3, 2007, Lord was appointed by Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

 as head of the Bilingualism Committee. He reviewed Canada's Official Language Laws, and made suggestions where improvements can be made. http://pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=1&id=1923

In December 2007, Lord was named as the President of the 2009 CHL
Canadian Hockey League
The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canadian-based major junior ice hockey leagues for players 16 to 20 years of age. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three member leagues, the Western Hockey...

 Memorial Cup
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...

 selection-committee.

In October 2008, it was announced that Lord would be appointed president and CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, a lobbyist group that represents cellular, messaging, mobile radio, fixed wireless and mobile satellite carriers as well as companies that develop and produce products and services for the industry.

Honours

In 2007, he was awarded the Order of New Brunswick
Order of New Brunswick
The Order of New Brunswick is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Instituted in 2000 by Lieutenant Governor Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bernard Lord, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended...

.
  • Grand Officier de l’Ordre de la Pleiade (La Francophonie)
  • Queen's Counsel
    Queen's Counsel
    Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

    , 2011
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