77 Facts About Kathy Dunderdale

Kathleen Mary Margaret "Kathy" Dunderdale is a politician and former MHA who served as the tenth premier of Newfoundland and Labrador from December 3,2010, to January 24,2014.

Kathy Dunderdale was a Progressive Conservative Party candidate in the 1993 general election and served as President of the PC Party.

Kathy Dunderdale was re-elected as MHA in the 2007 and 2011 general elections and resigned her post on February 28,2014.

Kathy Dunderdale became premier upon the resignation of Williams and after becoming the PC leader she led the party to victory in the October 2011 election.

Kathy Dunderdale was the first female premier in the province's history and the sixth woman to serve as a premier in the history of Canada.

Kathy Dunderdale met her late husband, Captain Peter Dunderdale, in 1972 while she was home from university for the summer.

Captain Kathy Dunderdale was a British master mariner whose boat was in dry dock undergoing repairs.

The couple had a son, Tom, and daughter, Sarah, together and Kathy Dunderdale was a stay-at-home mom during their formative years, while her husband sailed the world.

Kathy Dunderdale worked as a social worker with the provincial Department of Social Services, and accepted an offer to be part of an appeals board for inshore fishers after the cod moratorium.

Kathy Dunderdale served on the Burin town council and worked with an array of organizations, including the local school board and the Status of Women.

Kathy Dunderdale was president of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, and, after her husband retired from the sea and her children moved away for university, she became heavily involved in the consulting company her husband had started.

Kathy Dunderdale help found Women in Resource Development Corporation in 1997, an organization that works to get women involved in the trades and technology sector in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Kathy Dunderdale's husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer and died in 2006 at age 56.

Kathy Dunderdale was elected to the Burin town council in 1985, and served as deputy mayor from 1989 to 1993.

Kathy Dunderdale got involved in the provincial Federation of Municipalities, she served as their first female president and is the organization's only honorary member, Dunderdale was director of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities.

Kathy Dunderdale was the Progressive Conservative Candidate in the district of Fortune-Hermitage in the 1993 provincial election.

Kathy Dunderdale ran against Liberal cabinet minister Oliver Langdon, and while she knew she would not win the election she felt she had to send premier Clyde Wells a message about the way he was treating municipalities.

Kathy Dunderdale was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly in the 2003 general election defeating Liberal cabinet minister Walter Noel by 1,835 votes, taking 58 percent of the popular vote.

Kathy Dunderdale remained as Natural Resources Minister following the 2007 election and on October 31,2008, Williams appointed her to serve as Deputy Premier and Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, while continuing to serve in her previous portfolios.

From February 1,2010 to March 15,2010, Kathy Dunderdale assumed the duties as acting Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, while Williams took a leave of absence to undergo heart surgery in Florida.

On December 3,2010, Kathy Dunderdale was sworn in as Newfoundland and Labrador's tenth Premier, taking over for Williams who retired from politics the same day.

Kathy Dunderdale is the first female Premier in the province's history and only the sixth female in Canada to lead a province or territory.

On December 6,2010, Kathy Dunderdale held a minor cabinet shuffle to replace herself as the Minister of Natural Resources.

However, on December 17,2010, Kathy Dunderdale announced that she was reconsidering running for the leadership of the party and that she would make a final decision after Christmas.

On December 23,2010, Kathy Dunderdale garnered support from two other cabinet ministers when Finance Minister Tom Marshall and Municipal Affairs Minister Kevin O'Brien opted out of running for the leadership and threw their support behind her entering the race.

Kathy Dunderdale announced her candidacy for the PC Party leadership on December 30,2010, and was endorsed by her entire caucus.

On September 19,2011, Kathy Dunderdale met with Lieutenant Governor John Crosbie and requested a dissolution of the 46th General Assembly with an election to follow on October 11,2011.

Kathy Dunderdale released her party's platform in Grand Falls-Windsor on September 22,2011.

Kathy Dunderdale created the Department of Advanced Education and Skills, which takes on the majority of the responsibilities of the now defunct Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment.

Kathy Dunderdale eliminated the Department of Business and merged it with the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development to create the Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development.

Kathy Dunderdale restructured the former departments of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Affairs to create the Department of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs.

At her swearing in as premier Kathy Dunderdale stated that earlier that week she had asked Health Minister Jerome Kennedy and Finance Minister Tom Marshall to meet with the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association later that day to work out a resolution to the dispute.

Kathy Dunderdale announced soon after being sworn in that she wanted to end a year-long strike on the Burin Peninsula that involved 15 home care workers.

At the Council of the Federation meeting in July 2012, Kathy Dunderdale was selected as one of three premiers to help draft a national energy strategy on behalf of the Council.

Kathy Dunderdale was one of the few premiers to wade into that conflict and stated that "I don't agree that provinces should be able to use their geographical location to hold off economic development for their sister provinces - that's not in the best interests of the country".

Kathy Dunderdale went on to say that there would need to be difficult conversations but that they are needed to find resolutions that work for all.

At a luncheon with the St John's Board of Trade in February 2012, Kathy Dunderdale delivered a speech which laid out a more fiscally conservative course.

Kathy Dunderdale stated that the days of big spending were over and that it was time to reign in public spending.

Kathy Dunderdale said that there would be virtually no new spending in the upcoming provincial budget, that government departments were told to find savings and that she had ordered an audit of all government programs.

Kathy Dunderdale said that her goal in the next decade is to radically decrease Newfoundland and Labrador's debt load and to achieve the same per capita debt as the Canadian average.

Kathy Dunderdale later stated that her government was looking for $100 million in savings for the upcoming fiscal year and that key services were exempt from cuts.

Only 45 temporary positions were cut from the public service and a review of programs found $38.8 million in savings, much lower than the $100 million Kathy Dunderdale had previously mentioned.

Just three months after the budget was delivered Kathy Dunderdale announced that the government would cut back on travel and leave some vacant positions unfilled due to a drop in oil prices.

Kathy Dunderdale received a score of 71.4 out of a possible 100.0, though the report did mention that her strong performance with regards to government spending was in part due to the province's significant economic growth and not her ability to restrain growth in spending.

On January 16,2013, Kathy Dunderdale held a surprise cabinet shuffle that saw Minister Marshall shuffled out of Finance and appointed as Minister of Natural Resources.

Kathy Dunderdale was replaced by Jerome Kennedy, who had served as Natural Resources Minister since October 2011.

In less than three years Kathy Dunderdale had appointed her fourth Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

In February 2011, Kathy Dunderdale's government rejected a report prepared by an independent committee that called for a massive downsizing of the fishing industry.

Kathy Dunderdale said there was overcapacity in the fishing industry and that fish processing plants would need to close.

The day after winning a majority government, Kathy Dunderdale stated in an interview that tough decisions were looming in the industry.

Kathy Dunderdale again stated there was overcapacity and structural problems in the fishery and that her government was ready to make the tough decisions that were long overdue.

Kathy Dunderdale swore in her new cabinet weeks after the election and shuffled Jackman to the Department to Education, Darin King succeeded him as the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Kathy Dunderdale held a cabinet shuffle on October 19,2012, and appointed Tourism Minister Derrick Dalley as the new Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Kathy Dunderdale announced in a speech to the St John's Board of Trade in May 2013, that the loan guarantee for the Muskrat Falls project nearly fell apart because of MPRs.

Kathy Dunderdale said that the federal government tried to pressure her into eliminating MPRs at the eleventh hour of the loan guarantee negotiations to help secure the trade deal.

Kathy Dunderdale said that while she was willing to look at minimum processing requirements, she was not willing to tie it to the loan guarantee.

Kathy Dunderdale said they refused that deal and were eventually able to negotiate the current arrangement.

Kathy Dunderdale's government felt that eliminating MPRs was a safe trade away because they did not feel European countries could compete with Newfoundland and Labrador fish plants, due to higher operating costs in those countries.

On October 29,2013, Kathy Dunderdale held a major news conference regarding the fishery at The Rooms in St John's.

In June 2012, Kathy Dunderdale's government brought forth controversial legislation, known as Bill 29, that reformed the province's Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Kathy Dunderdale cited Dunderdale's leadership as the reason for his defection and said that the turning point for him was the debate over Bill 29.

On October 19,2012, Kathy Dunderdale shuffled her cabinet and Justice Minister Felix Collins, who was responsible for Bill 29, was shuffled out of the Justice portfolio and became Minister of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs.

At the time of the cabinet shuffle Kathy Dunderdale created the Office of Public Engagement, which will bring together different departments to aid in communications efforts.

On February 7,2011, the premier's office announced that due to several incidents since Kathy Dunderdale became premier in December that police bodyguards were protecting her.

Kathy Dunderdale spoke on the issue the following day, she said that due to privacy reasons she was partially reluctant to take on a bodyguard but respects the RNC's decision.

Kathy Dunderdale said that the police had asked her not to comment on the issue and therefore she would stay mum about what led to the need for security.

However, her party entered the campaign with support levels in the high fifties and Kathy Dunderdale remained the top choice for premier.

On October 11,2011, Kathy Dunderdale led her party to victory winning 56 per cent of the popular vote, which was consistent with polling throughout the campaign.

In November 2012,36 per cent of respondents to a CRA poll thought Kathy Dunderdale was the best choice for premier, down from 59 per cent a year earlier.

Just 37 per cent of those polled approved of the job Kathy Dunderdale was doing as premier, while 55 per cent disapproved.

Michael surpassed Kathy Dunderdale when asked who would make the best premier, Michael was at 33 per cent and Kathy Dunderdale was at 32 per cent.

An Angus Reid poll released on April 8,2013, rating the performance of provincial premiers, showed that Kathy Dunderdale was the most unpopular premier in the country.

Only 21 per cent of those surveyed felt Kathy Dunderdale was the best choice for premier, behind both Michael and Ball.

Towards the end of 2013, satisfaction for the Kathy Dunderdale administration saw a significant increase, though support for her and the PC Party saw little change from the poll in May According to a November CRA poll, satisfaction with the Kathy Dunderdale government was up 10 points from May to 42 per cent, while dissatisfaction was at 52 per cent.

On January 22,2014, and initially reported by media outlets the day before, Kathy Dunderdale announced that she would be resigning as Premier on January 24,2014.

On February 28,2014, Kathy Dunderdale sent out a news releasing announcing she was resigning as the MHA for Virginia Water by the end of the day, ending a ten and a half year career in provincial politics.

Kathy Dunderdale subsequently returned to community work gaining employment with Gathering Place as their volunteer coordinator.