Keith Ashfield | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament forFredericton | |
| In office October 14, 2008 – October 19, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Andy Scott |
| Succeeded by | Matt DeCourcey |
| Member of theNew Brunswick Legislative Assembly forNew Maryland-Sunbury West New Maryland (1999-2006) | |
| In office June 7, 1999 – September 8, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Joan Kingston |
| Succeeded by | Jack Carr |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1952-03-28)March 28, 1952 Fredericton,New Brunswick, Canada |
| Died | April 22, 2018(2018-04-22) (aged 66) Fredericton,New Brunswick, Canada |
| Party | Conservative |
| Residence(s) | Lincoln,New Brunswick |
Keith John Ashfield[1]PC (March 28, 1952 – April 22, 2018) was a Canadian politician. He served as themember of Parliament (MP) for the electoral district ofFredericton from 2008 to 2015 and, before that, was a member of theNew Brunswick Legislature from 1999 to 2008. He served in the federal cabinet in various capacities from 2008 to 2013.
The son of Jack Ashfield and Nora Locke, he studied Business at theUniversity of New Brunswick for two years.[2]
Ashfield was aschool trustee for a number of years and was first a candidate for theLegislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the1991 election. AProgressive Conservative, Ashfield placed third withConfederation of Regions candidateMax White being victorious.
Ashfield was again a candidate in1999 and was successful, defeatingcabinet ministerJoan Kingston in theriding ofNew Maryland. He was nameddeputy speaker of the Legislature. Ashfield faced Kingston again in2003 and won again though by a closer margin. He was sworn in asMinister of Natural Resources & Energy on June 27, 2003. He was elected to a third term in2006 in the redistributed district ofNew Maryland-Sunbury West, however he left the cabinet as his party formed theopposition following the election.
On March 6, 2018, Ashfield ran for theProgressive Conservative nomination inOromocto-Lincoln-Fredericton. The nomination ultimately went toMary Wilson.
On November 7, 2007, he won the nomination to be the candidate of theConservative Party of Canada inFredericton for thenext federal election.[3] When the election was called, he resigned his provincial seat.[4] He was elected in the2008 federal election[5] and re-elected in the2011 federal election. Ashfield was appointedMinister of Fisheries and Oceans on May 18, 2011.[6]
Ashfield co-chaired the annual meeting of the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers (CCFAM) inVictoria, British Columbia in 2012. Ministers discussed a range of issues such as aquaculture, aquatic invasive species, and protecting Canada's fisheries.[7]
In March 2013, Ashfield faced criticism for a photo-op during which he remarked to the teenage daughter of a constituent, "Grace, you’re a great cook. You’re going to make a wonderful wife for somebody."[8] Later that year, he was replaced as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and left the Cabinet.
He was defeated in the2015 federal election.
In October 2012, Ashfield had a heart attack and temporarily gave his role to then National Revenue MinisterGail Shea.[6] In June 2013, Ashfield announced he had been diagnosed withHodgkin's lymphoma.[9] When he declared his candidacy for the2015 Canadian federal election, he had beaten his cancer that had returned in Fall 2014.[10]
The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick officially announced Keith Ashfield's death in the early afternoon of April 22, 2018.[11]
| 2015 Canadian federal election:Fredericton | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Matt DeCourcey | 23,016 | 49.26 | +25.24 | $98,991.33 | |||
| Conservative | Keith Ashfield | 13,280 | 28.42 | -18.55 | $79,507.14 | |||
| Green | Mary Lou Babineau | 5,804 | 12.42 | +8.27 | $159,022.44 | |||
| New Democratic | Sharon Scott-Levesque | 4,622 | 9.89 | -14.41 | – | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 46,722 | 100.0 | $195,873.36 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 188 | 0.40 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 46,910 | 77.43 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 60,587 | |||||||
| Liberalgain fromConservative | Swing | +21.90 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[12][13][14] | ||||||||
| 2011 Canadian federal election:Fredericton | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Keith Ashfield | 21,573 | 48.38 | +5.85 | $80,569.94 | |||
| New Democratic | Jesse Travis | 10,626 | 23.83 | +8.47 | $8,535.27 | |||
| Liberal | Randy McKeen | 10,336 | 23.18 | -8.35 | $53,834.28 | |||
| Green | Louise Comeau | 1,790 | 4.01 | -6.15 | $8,177.72 | |||
| Independent | Adam Scott Ness | 266 | 0.60 | – | $101.69 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 44,591 | 100.0 | $83,547.51 | |||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 207 | 0.46 | -0.11 | |||||
| Turnout | 44,798 | 64.24 | +2.11 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 69,732 | |||||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | -1.31 | ||||||
| Sources:[15][16] | ||||||||
| 2008 Canadian federal election:Fredericton | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Keith Ashfield | 17,962 | 42.53 | +7.87 | $73,954.11 | |||
| Liberal | David Innes | 13,319 | 31.53 | -10.27 | $64,776.23 | |||
| New Democratic | Jesse Travis | 6,490 | 15.36 | -5.89 | $6,944.89 | |||
| Green | Mary Lou Babineau | 4,293 | 10.16 | +8.28 | $8,526.99 | |||
| Canadian Action | Ben Kelly | 168 | 0.39 | – | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 42,232 | 100.0 | $80,195 | |||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 242 | 0.57 | +0.13 | |||||
| Turnout | 42,474 | 62.13 | -5.86 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 68,368 | |||||||
| Conservativegain fromLiberal | Swing | +9.07 | ||||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| 28th Canadian Ministry (2006–2015) – Cabinet ofStephen Harper | ||
| Cabinet posts (4) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Gail Shea | Minister of Fisheries and Oceans 2011–2013 | Gail Shea |
| Jean-Pierre Blackburn | Minister of National Revenue 2010–2011 | Gail Shea |
| Peter MacKay | Minister of the Atlantic Gateway 2010–2013 | Lisa Raitt |
| Peter MacKay | Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) 2008–2011 | Bernard Valcourt |
| New Brunswick provincial government ofBernard Lord | ||
| Cabinet post (1) | ||
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Jeannot Volpé | Minister of Natural Resources & Energy 2003–2006 | Donald Arseneault |
