Paul Lane

Paul Lane is a Canadian politician in the provincial legislature of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He represents the electoral district of Mount Pearl-Southlands in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. Born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Lane resides in the suburban community of Mount Pearl, where he was a city councillor and deputy mayor prior to his election to the provincial legislature. He was first elected in the 2011 provincial election as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador (PC).[1] He was elected as a Liberal in the 2015 election. Following his removal from the Liberal caucus in 2016, he sat as an Independent, and successfully contested the 2019 provincial election as such. Prior to entering politics, Lane worked as an occupational health and safety professional and disability claims manager.

Paul Lane MHA
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for Mount Pearl-Southlands Mount Pearl South (2011-2015)
Incumbent
Assumed office October 11, 2011
Preceded by	Dave Denine
Personal details
Born	St. John's, Newfoundland
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Liberal Party (2014–2016) Progressive Conservative (2011–2014)
Residence	Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador

Politics

Following the election of a PC majority government in 2011, Lane was not appointed to the Cabinet. On January 20, 2014 Lane crossed the floor to the Liberal Party to protest the leadership of Premier Kathy Dunderdale.[2] After leaving the PCs Lane apologized for his behaviour in the House of Assembly and on social media, and distanced himself from the policies of the PCs, especially his prior outspoken support for curtailing access to information with Bill 29 and for the Muskrat Falls project.

Following the election of a Liberal majority government in 2015, Lane sat as a backbencher. In 2016, he was suspended from the Liberal caucus for voting with the opposition on a non-binding motion against the 2016 budget.[3] Lane served as Chair of Committees. As an Independent he frequently votes in support of the positions put forward by NDP MHAs.[4]

After he left the Liberal Party, media reports surfaced that Lane was being sued for $28,000 in credit card arrears.[5]

Lane won re-election in the 2019 provincial election as an Independent candidate.

Electoral record

2019 Newfoundland and Labrador general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Paul Lane	2,823	43.7	–
	Liberal	Hasan Hai	1,826	28.3	–
	Progressive Conservative	Gillian Pearson	1,590	24.6	–
	New Democratic	David Brake	214	3.3	–

2015 Newfoundland and Labrador general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Paul Lane	2,559	47.4	–
	Progressive Conservative	Jim Lester	2,318	42.9	–
	New Democratic	Roy Locke	522	9.7	–

2011 Newfoundland and Labrador general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Paul Lane	2,375	54.61	-29.73
	NDP	John Riche	1,675	38.51	+31.78
	Liberal	Norm Snelgrove	299	6.88	-2.05

References

1. "Plenty of new faces heading to Confederation Building". CBC News. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
2. "Newfoundland Tory switches to Liberals, blames Premier Dunderdale". The Globe and Mail, January 20, 2014.
3. "Paul Lane Kicked Out of Liberal Caucus via Email". VOCM. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
4. "House of Asembly - NL - Error Page". www.assembly.nl.ca. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
5. Antle, Rob (December 12, 2016). "Independent MHA Paul Lane sued over $28K in alleged unpaid credit card debt". CBC News.

External links

• Paul Lane