For the second time in as many weeks, another Mairitimes premier has announced their resignation.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey announced Tuesday that he would be stepping down after nearly five years in office, citing family considerations and electoral timing as key factors in his decision.
He also spent much of his resignation announcement bashing U.S. President Donald Trump, suggesting that he didn’t have time to deal with what he perceived as Trump’s “erratic” behaviour.
“This job has been like one five-year-long shift. You are always on. You are never off,” said Furey. “You are with everyone for the celebrations but often alone with the weight of the hardest calls. You go to bed with it on your mind, and it’s your wake-up call every morning.”
Furey’s departure follows P.E.I’s Dennis King, who announced his equally surprising resignation on Feb. 20.
Furey, an orthopedic surgeon by trade, was first elected premier in Aug. 2020 after winning the Liberal leadership following Dwight Ball’s resignation. He later led the party to victory in the 2021 provincial election, securing a majority government.
He said that now was the time for him to return to his family and back to his job in the operating room, where he would help the province in a different way.
Under Newfoundland and Labrador’s electoral rules, a general election must be held within a year of a new leader taking office. Furey said he did not want to seek re-election only to step down shortly afterward, which he argued would be disruptive and costly for the province.
He said that Newfoundland and Labradorians deserve a fully committed premier because of Trump’s tariff threats.
“With President Trump, it’s not going to be a four-day thing; it’s not going to be a four-month issue. This is going to be almost a permanent tenure issue,” said Furey. “So we’re looking at four years of erratic, crazy, bonkers behaviour by the President of the United States.”
Furey confirmed he would remain in office until his successor was chosen through a Liberal party leadership race. He did not endorse any candidate, saying it was “problematic” when outgoing leaders did so. He said he did not see a career in federal politics in his future.
The provincial leadership race will be ongoing during the federal Liberal leadership election, set to conclude on Mar. 9 — when Canada’s new prime minister will be crowned.
He said he’d already met with party officials and that a nomination period would soon begin for prospective candidates to put their names forward to become the new premier.
The outgoing premier dismissed suggestions that fears of losing the next election influenced his departure. He said he knew he would win, so it was a non-factor.
Furey pulled what he termed “a Gretzky moment” when he thanked various family members’ support, advice, patience, and devotion.
In fact, Furey said he was very proud of his tenure and cited various accomplishments. Among them was his claim that his province had one of the best pandemic responses in the world.
His wife, Alison Furey, said the weight of the job had been deeply felt within their household but that he had left the province in a better spot than he found it.
“The pressure and the weight of this job is felt deeply in our household. He has been away, and our kids have grown up in front of our eyes,” said Alison. “It’s time for us to get back to being a unit of five.”
To conclude his Q&A with reporters, the premier revealed a secret.
“I have not read a single story or watched a single piece of news or listened to radio since I started this job five years ago,” he said. “It’s something I look forward to doing again.”