Sherry Wilson is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 2014 provincial election. Since 2024, she represents the electoral district of Albert-Riverview as a member of the Progressive Conservatives. She was first elected as the MLA for Moncton Southwest in 2010 and was re-elected in the 2014, 2018, and 2020 provincial elections. After the 2024 elections, she became the longest serving member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick.
Sherry Wilson | |
|---|---|
 Wilson in 2024 | |
| Minister responsible for Addictions and Mental Health Services | |
| In office June 27, 2023 – November 2, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Bruce Fitch |
| Succeeded by | Rob McKee |
| Minister of Service New Brunswick | |
| In office November 9, 2018 – September 29, 2020 | |
| Premier | Blaine Higgs |
| Preceded by | Benoît Bourque |
| Succeeded by | Mary Wilson |
| Member of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly for Albert-Riverview | |
| Assuming office November 2, 2024[1] | |
| Succeeding | District created |
| Member of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly for Moncton Southwest | |
| In office September 22, 2014 – September 19, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | District created |
| Succeeded by | District abolished |
| Member of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly for Petitcodiac | |
| In office September 27, 2010 – September 22, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Wally Stiles |
| Succeeded by | District abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Intervale, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
Early life
editWilson grew up on a dairy farm in Intervale, New Brunswick and attended schools in Petitcodiac. She is one of nine children. Following high school, she completed a business and secretarial course at Campbellton Community College.[2]
Before politics
editAfter college she began working at Hub Meat Packers in Moncton where she was Credit Manager Assistant and after moving to Edmonton, Alberta, she worked at the University Hospital in administration. After two years in Alberta, she moved back to New Brunswick, settling in Riverview, where she bought her own business in 1984.[2]
Wilson also volunteered for the RCMP from 1991 to 1999 as Victim Services Coordinator. In 2002 and 2003, she was the president of the Downtown Riverview Business Association and in 2004 she was elected to Riverview Town Council and was re-elected in 2008. She sat on the Codiac Regional Policing Authority Board, the Immigration Board, and the Finn report committee, among other committees and boards, and served as deputy mayor in 2005.[2]
Political career
editWilson ran for a seat to the New Brunswick Legislature in the 2010 provincial election. She stood as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the electoral district of Petitcodiac. She defeated Wally Stiles, a former cabinet minister who crossed the floor from the Progressive Conservatives to the Liberals in 2007, to take back the seat for her party. After the Petitcodiac electoral district was abolished in the 2013 electoral redistribution, Wilson ran and was re-elected in the newly created district of Moncton Southwest in the 2014 provincial election. She was re-elected again in the 2018 and 2020 provincial elections.
On November 9, 2018, she was sworn-in as Minister of Service New Brunswick and Minister responsible for Women's Equality, in the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Blaine Higgs.[2] On June 27, 2023, she was sworn-in as the Minister responsible for Addictions and Mental Health Services.
As a result of the 2021 electoral redistribution, Wilson is running in the 2024 provincial election in the Albert-Riverview electoral district.[3]
On September 30, 2024, Wilson released a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation statement on her campaign page in which she compared residential schools to the parental rights movement, specifically making a comparison to the original version of Policy 713. Her statement received criticism from opposition parties, with several indigenous peoples also calling for her withdrawal as a candidate for the party,[3][4] including by Pabineau First Nation Chief Terry Richardson as well as by the six Wolastoqey Nation chiefs, who released a statement reading: "That she would try to draw this dog-whistle comparison on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation should make every New Brunswicker ashamed that she was recently a minister for this province in the Higgs government."[5]
Electoral record
editMoncton Southwest
edit| 2020 New Brunswick general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Sherry Wilson | 3,679 | 52.13 | 10.39 | ||||
| Liberal | René Ephestion | 1,561 | 22.12 | -16.00 | ||||
| Green | Claire Kelly | 927 | 13.13 | +0.17 | ||||
| People's Alliance | Susan Matthews | 667 | 9.45 | -- | ||||
| New Democratic | Juliana McIntosh | 224 | 3.17 | -4.02 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 7,058 | |||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 12 | 0.17 | -0.33 | |||||
| Turnout | 7,070 | 58.47 | +0.59 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 12,081 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | +13.20 | ||||||
| Source: Elections New Brunswick[6] | ||||||||
| 2018 New Brunswick general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Sherry Wilson | 2,920 | 41.73 | +2.97 | ||||
| Liberal | Susy Campos | 2,667 | 38.11 | +3.14 | ||||
| Green | Sarah Colwell | 907 | 12.96 | +6.93 | ||||
| New Democratic | Hailey Duffy | 503 | 7.19 | -10.17 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 6,997 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 35 | 0.50 | ||||||
| Turnout | 7,032 | 57.98 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 12,128 | |||||||
| Source: Elections New Brunswick[6] | ||||||||
| 2014 New Brunswick general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Sherry Wilson | 2,523 | 38.80 | |||||
| Liberal | Tyson Milner | 2,274 | 34.97 | |||||
| New Democratic | Charles Doucet | 1,129 | 17.36 | |||||
| Green | Mathieu Pierre LaPlante | 392 | 6.03 | |||||
| People's Alliance | Lucy Goguen | 184 | 2.83 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 6,502 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 26 | 0.40 | ||||||
| Turnout | 6,528 | 54.77 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 11,919 | |||||||
| This riding was created from parts of Moncton North, Petitcodiac, Moncton West and Moncton Crescent, all of which elected Progressive Conservatives in the previous election. Sherry Wilson was the incumbent from Petitcodiac. | ||||||||
| Source: Elections New Brunswick[6] | ||||||||
Petitcodiac
edit| 2010 New Brunswick general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Sherry Wilson | 4,133 | 55.69 | -9.22 | ||||
| Liberal | Wally Stiles | 1,772 | 23.87 | -5.73 | ||||
| Green | Bethany Thorne-Dykstra | 856 | 11.53 | – | ||||
| New Democratic | Leta Both | 661 | 8.91 | +3.43 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 7,422 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 44 | 0.59 | ||||||
| Turnout | 7,466 | 68.40 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 10,915 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | -1.74 | ||||||
| Liberal candidate Wally Stiles lost 41.04 percentage points from his 2006 performance running as a Progressive Conservative. | ||||||||
| Source: Elections New Brunswick[6] | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Premier-designate Holt And MLAs To Be Sworn In Nov. 2". CHCO-TV. 2024-10-23. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ a b c d "Internet Archive (March 8, 2022): Hon. Sherry Wilson". wwwlegnb.ca. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
- ^ a b Waugh, Andrew (October 1, 2024). "UPDATE: PC candidate compares residential schools, parents' rights". Telegraph-Journal. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Poitras, Jacques (October 1, 2024). "PC candidate compares original 2SLGBTQ+ policy to Indigenous residential schools". CBC News. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Alam, Hina (October 1, 2024). "Conservative candidate in New Brunswick election compares LGBTQ policy to residential schools". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Provincial Election Results". www.electionsnb.ca. Elections New Brunswick.