Joanne Thompson PC MP is a Canadian politician who serves as the Minister of Fisheries and the Member of Parliament for the riding of St. John's East since 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, she has served as the Minister of Seniors and Minister of Fisheries in the cabinets of Justin Trudeau and Mark Carney.
Joanne Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Fisheries[a] | |
| Assumed office March 14, 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Mark Carney |
| Preceded by | Diane Lebouthillier |
| Minister of Seniors | |
| In office December 20, 2024 – March 14, 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Steven MacKinnon |
| Succeeded by | Stephanie McLean |
| Member of Parliament for St. John's East | |
| Assumed office September 20, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Jack Harris |
| Personal details | |
| Party | Liberal |
| Children | 3 |
| Athabasca University University of Fredericton | |
Early life
editJoanne Thompson was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. She married and is the mother of three children.[1] In the 1970s she was trained as a nurse. She graduated from Athabasca University with a bachelor's degree in nursing and from the University of Fredericton with a Master of Business Administration degree.[2]
Career
editJack Harris, who represented St. John's East multiple times starting 1987, declined to seek reelection in the 2021 election.[3] In the 2021 and 2025 elections Thompson was a successful Liberal candidate in St. John's East.[4] She was the first Liberal to win reelection in the riding since the 1960s.[5]
From 2021 to 2023, Thompson was a member of the Government Operations and Estimates, and Environment and Sustainable Development committees. From 2023 to 2025, she was a member of the Finance committee.[4][6] She was the co-chair of the Women's Caucus.[1] Thompson supported Carney during the 2025 Liberal leadership election.[7]
Thompson was the Minister of Seniors in the cabinet of Justin Trudeau from 20 December 2024 to 13 March 2025, and has been the Minister of Fisheries in the cabinet of Mark Carney since 14 March 2025.[4][6] In 2025, she doubled the allowable catch of cod off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador from 18,000 tonnes to 38,000 tonnes.[8] She denied Marineland of Canada's request to export its 30 beluga whales to a theme park in China, stating that it was not in line with the Fisheries Act's regulations to protect marine mammals from exploitation.[9] However, on January 26, 2026, she gave "conditional approval" to Marineland to export its remaining 30 belugas and 4 dolphins to several institutions in the United States. Before final approval is given, Marineland will need to provide a complete travel plan and confirm precisely which animals are going to which facilities, as well as receive confirmation from accredited veterinarians that each animal is safe to be transported.[10] Marineland had stated that if the government had denied the request for export permits it would proceed with a secondary plan to euthanize the animals.[11]
Electoral history
edit| 2025 Canadian federal election: St. John's East | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Joanne Thompson | 28,681 | 62.28 | +17.14 | ||||
| Conservative | David Brazil | 11,941 | 25.93 | +7.84 | ||||
| New Democratic | Mary Shortall | 5,172 | 11.23 | −23.61 | ||||
| Green | Otis Crandell | 159 | 0.35 | N/A | ||||
| Communist | Samuel Crête | 98 | 0.21 | N/A | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 46,051 | 99.05 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 440 | 0.95 | ||||||
| Turnout | 46,491 | 70.94 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 65,536 | |||||||
| Liberal notional hold | Swing | +4.65 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[12][13] | ||||||||
| Note: number of eligible voters does not include voting day registrations. | ||||||||
| 2021 Canadian federal election: St. John's East | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Joanne Thompson | 17,239 | 45.16 | +11.97 | $71,466.38 | |||
| New Democratic | Mary Shortall | 13,090 | 34.29 | –12.63 | $65,576.70 | |||
| Conservative | Glenn Etchegary | 7,119 | 18.65 | +0.59 | $44,852.25 | |||
| People's | Dana Metcalfe | 723 | 1.89 | – | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 38,171 | 99.23 | $105,251.87 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 296 | 0.77 | –0.39 | |||||
| Turnout | 38,467 | 57.45 | –10.20 | |||||
| Registered voters | 66,963 | |||||||
| Liberal gain from New Democratic | Swing | +12.30 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[14][15] | ||||||||
Notes
edit- ↑ Formerly titled Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
References
edit- 1 2 Joanne Thompson.
- ↑ Kilfoy 2025.
- ↑ Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 2021.
- 1 2 3 House of Commons of Canada.
- ↑ 'The work continues': Joanne Thompson re-elected in St. John’s East 2025.
- 1 2 The Telegram 2025.
- ↑ Howard 2025.
- ↑ Smellie 2025.
- ↑ Nicholson & Thomas 2025.
- ↑ Brown, Desmond (January 26, 2026). "Marineland gets 'conditional approval' from Ottawa to ship 30 belugas, 4 dolphins to U.S." CBC News. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
- ↑ Casey, Liam (January 21, 2026). "Marineland now seeking permits to ship remaining belugas to U.S.: sources". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Voter information service". Elections Canada. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ↑ "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". Elections Canada. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ↑ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Candidate Campaign Returns". Elections Canada. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
Works cited
editNews
- "Liberals flip St. John's East, as Conservatives look to claim Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. September 20, 2021. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025.
- "NL MP Joanne Thompson named Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Coast Guard". The Telegram. March 14, 2025. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025.
- Howard, Bailey (January 28, 2025). "N.L. cabinet minister Joanne Thompson endorses Mark Carney for Liberal leadership". CJON-DT. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025.
- Kilfoy, Cameron (April 4, 2025). "Meet the candidates running in St. John's East". The Telegram. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025.
- Kilfoy, Cameron (April 28, 2025). "'The work continues': Joanne Thompson re-elected in St. John's East". The Telegram. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025.
- Nicholson, Katie; Thomas, Carly (October 1, 2025). "Federal government denies Marineland request to export belugas". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on November 6, 2025.
- Smellie, Sarah (June 19, 2025). "Scientists question Ottawa more than doubling cod catch in Newfoundland and Labrador". St. Albert Gazette. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025.
Web
- "Joanne Thompson". Joanne Thompson. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
- "Roles - Hon. Joanne Thompson". House of Commons of Canada. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025.