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Dale Kirby

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Dale Kirby
Ph.D
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
for Mount Scio
In office
November 30, 2015 – April 17, 2019
Preceded byNew District
Succeeded bySarah Stoodley
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
for St. John's North
In office
November 9, 2011 – November 5, 2015
Preceded byBob Ridgley
Succeeded byriding dissolved
Personal details
Born (1971-05-19) May 19, 1971 (age 53)
St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, Canada
Political partyNew Democrat (1999–2013)
Independent (2013–2014)
Liberal (2014–2018)
Independent (2018–2019)
Residence(s)St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
OccupationUniversity Professor

Dale Kirby (born May 19, 1971) is a politician who served in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 2011 to 2019.

He served as Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development in the Ball government from 2015 to 2018.

Early life

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Kirby was born in St. Lawrence on the Burin Peninsula. He was raised on a small farm in Lord's Cove where generations of his family have worked in inshore fishing industries. Kirby began working at an early age at Kirby's Store, later Kirby's Kwik-Way, a family-run grocery and convenience store. He graduated from St. Joseph's Academy in 1989.

University studies and student activism

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Kirby earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Education degrees from Memorial University of Newfoundland before completing a doctorate in higher education theory and policy studies at the University of Toronto. While at university, he held a number of elected student union positions at the local, provincial, and national levels. As chairperson of the Newfoundland and Labrador component of the Canadian Federation of Students in the 1990s, Kirby led a successful campaign to freeze college and university tuition fees in Newfoundland and Labrador.[1]

Academic career

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In 2006, Kirby was appointed an assistant professor of post-secondary education studies in the Faculty of Education at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He was promoted to the position of associate professor in 2011. Prior to joining Memorial University, he worked as a senior advisor on education policy in the Ontario Public Service.[2]

Kirby is a professor, researcher, and consultant on student access and participation in college and university and in the area of online learning.[3] In recognition of his contributions and advocacy, the Canadian Council on Learning named him a Minerva Scholar in 2007.[4] In 2011, he received the R. W. B. Jackson Award from the Canadian Educational Researchers Association as well the Best Research Paper Award at the 2011 European Distance and E-Learning Network Annual Conference.[5][6]

Politics

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Kirby was first elected in 2011 to represent the electoral district of St. John's North as a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party.[7][8] Kirby left the NDP caucus in 2013 after a high-profile, public dispute with NDP leader Lorraine Michael,[9][10][11] and later joined the Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party.[12] He was reelected in the 2015 provincial election as a Liberal in the new district of Mount Scio.[13][14]

Kirby was sworn at Government House as Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development by Lieutenant Governor Frank Fagan on December 14, 2015.[15][16] Kirby was Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development for Newfoundland and Labrador from 2015 to 2018 during which time he oversaw the implementation of full-day Kindergarten across the province. He also oversaw the work of the Task Force on Improving Educational Outcomes which carried out a comprehensive review of the Newfoundland and Labrador public school system.[17]

On April 30, 2018 Kirby resigned from the Liberal cabinet following allegations of harassment by Liberal MHAs Colin Holloway and Pam Parsons. Kirby sat as an Independent during an investigation of the complaint by the Commissioner for Legislative Standards.[18][19] On August 27, 2018, CBC released a copy of a report by the Commissioner for Legislative Standards that cleared him and Eddie Joyce of wrongdoing in all the allegations made by fellow Liberal MHA Colin Holloway.[20] On October 20, 2018, Kirby shared the results of the report regarding MHA Pam Parsons’ complaint to the public. Kirby was cleared on all complaints, except ”seeking a personal benefit” in a comment to Parsons about a school petition at the 2016 Liberal Party AGM; the report recommended a sanction by the House of Assembly on that count.[21][22][23]

Electoral history

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2015 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Dale Kirby 1,899 47.1 +42.8
Progressive Conservative Rhonda Churchill-Herder 1,104 27.4 -13.1
New Democratic Sean Panting 1,030 25.5 -29.7
2011 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Dale Kirby 2,595 55.2 +45.2
Progressive Conservative Bob Ridgley 1,905 40.5 -37.1
Liberal Elizabeth Scammell-Reynolds 201 4.3 -8.7
1999 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Lloyd Matthews 2,304 45.5 -10.9
Progressive Conservative Ray Andrews 1,971 38.9 +5.4
New Democratic Dale Kirby 788 15.6 +5.3

References

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  1. ^ "Postsecondary Fees Frozen". The Telegram, January 15, 1999.
  2. ^ "Dale Kirby's personal webpage". www.dalekirby.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  3. ^ "Dale Kirby: Invitation to speak". MUN Gazette. Archived from the original on July 17, 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  4. ^ "Canadian Council on Learning honours education professor", November 28, 2007. MUN Gazette.
  5. ^ "Kirby and Gardner take home award". MUN Faculty of Education. June 3, 2011. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  6. ^ "Education paper head of the class". MUN Gazette. Archived from the original on November 8, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  7. ^ "Plenty of new faces heading to Confederation Building". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  8. ^ "NDP celebrates historic gains". CBC News. October 11, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  9. ^ "N.L. NDP Leader Lorraine Michael facing caucus revolt". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  10. ^ "Michael calls for 2014 leadership review". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  11. ^ "Kirby, Mitchelmore quit NDP caucus after leadership row". CBC News, October 29, 2013.
  12. ^ "Dale Kirby and Christopher Mitchelmore join Liberals". CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador, February 4, 2014.
  13. ^ "8 notable Liberals uncontested in provincial election race". CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador, June 22, 2015.
  14. ^ "NDP Leader Earle McCurdy loses to Siobhan Coady". CBC News. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  15. ^ "School board elections set for Nov. 22, Dale Kirby announces | CBC News".
  16. ^ "Dwight Ball, new Liberal cabinet sworn in at Government House". CBC News. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  17. ^ "Dr. Dale Kirby | Faculty of Education".
  18. ^ "Dale Kirby removed from cabinet and caucus after complaints". CBC News. April 30, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  19. ^ "Holloway not happy with harassment ruling". The Western Star, August 29, 2018.
  20. ^ "Kirby cleared of being Twitter troll, Joyce cleared of bullying MHA Colin Holloway". CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador, August 27, 2018.
  21. ^ "Dale Kirby glad harassment investigation over, but says complaints used as 'political weapon'". CBC News. October 19, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  22. ^ "Harassment scandal sparks proposed changes in N.L. legislature". nationalpost. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  23. ^ "Dwight Ball recruits new blood for cabinet to replace Kirby, Joyce". CBC News. November 8, 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
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