Tony Wakeham

Tony Wakeham is Newfoundland's Finance Minister. NL has been through repeated fiscal crises, oil revenue booms and busts, and decades of population challenges. The provincial debt is enormous. Personal income taxes in NL are among the highest in Atlantic Canada. Services in rural communities have been cut or reduced. People leave for the mainland because the economic opportunities just aren't there. Someone needs to be accountable for why a province sitting on offshore oil revenues has such persistent problems delivering affordable services to its people. Wakeham has the portfolio. What's the actual plan to turn this around in the next decade?

Members of the Newfoundland House of Assembly carry a real responsibility — the province faces unique economic and geographic challenges that need strong provincial advocacy. Cost of living in NL is genuinely tough: food costs more, fuel costs more, and rural communities keep losing services. I need MHAs who are visible, accessible, and fighting loudly for their constituents — not just voting along party lines and going quiet. Families in Newfoundland and Labrador are struggling and they deserve representatives who treat every session like it actually matters.

Tony Wakeham was sworn in as the 16th Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador in October 2025, leading the PCs to a majority upset over the governing Liberals. A former healthcare executive — he served as CEO of Labrador-Grenfell Health — Wakeham campaigned primarily on affordability, healthcare reform, and fiscal accountability. His first 100 days included a refresh of NL Health Services leadership, a commitment to freeze university tuition, and a pledge to deliver meaningful tax relief in his government's first budget. He also committed to a public referendum on the Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding negotiated by his predecessor, signalling an intention to revisit one of the largest fiscal decisions in recent provincial history. The mandate he has set is ambitious, and his background in health-system leadership lends credibility to that particular file. However, he has been in office for only nine months, and concrete results on any of these fronts are still emerging. His professionalism and communication have been steady, and the province is watching closely to see whether his executive experience translates into effective governance. Reviewed as a Newfoundlander who has heard many promises about healthcare and is watching carefully for results this time.