Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey talks to media after a news conference in St.John's, on Feb. 25.Paul Daly/The Canadian Press
Andrew Furey, the orthopedic surgeon who promised to reinvent Newfoundland and Labrador when he became its Premier less than five years ago, is leaving politics to go back to the operating room.
Mr. Furey announced his surprise resignation Tuesday at the Confederation Building in St. John’s, with his wife and three kids by his side. He’s the second Atlantic premier in less than a week to step down and cite the economic uncertainty from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war as a factor in the decision after Prince Edward Island’s Dennis King resigned on Friday.
The Newfoundland Premier, a Liberal, told reporters he will stay on until his party chooses a new leader, at which point a general election must be held within a year.
“The time has come for me to return to my family and to the job that I love in the operating room, where I will continue to serve the people of this province in a different way,” he said.
Mr. Furey’s resignation comes as all provinces face the threat of punishing 25-per-cent tariffs from Mr. Trump – who said Monday that tariffs are going forward on Canadian and Mexican goods. The Premier said the looming trade war with the United States was not the main reason for his departure, but the prospect of four years of uncertainty with an “erratic, crazy, bonkers President” made his decision easier.
The son of a prominent Newfoundland political family, he became Premier in August, 2020, with big plans to lead the province’s economic renewal, despite never having held public office.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s financial picture has improved during his term, although it still has the heaviest debt burden in the country. The province’s 2024-25 budget projects a deficit of $152-million, or about 1.5 per cent of its revenues. That’s an improvement from the $433-million deficit projected from the previous year, thanks in part to rising revenues from the province’s substantial offshore oil and gas reserves.
Mr. Furey, whose Liberals won a majority government in March, 2021, said he couldn’t commit to another full term in office with a provincial election looming.
“This job has been like one five-year-long shift,” he told reporters. “You are always on. You are never off. 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 single morning.”
Furey's parents, wife and children surround him as signs the papers officially entering the race to become provincial Liberal party leader and premier in St. John’s on Tuesday March 3, 2020. Furey said Tuesday he would step down, citing family reasons and a desire to return to his career as a surgeon.Douglas Gaulton/The Canadian Press
Mr. King, in his resignation last week, made similar comments, saying he didn’t want to be a “lifer” in politics and explaining how the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises took their toll. He also said that Mr. Trump’s tariff threats and challenges to Canada’s sovereignty are causing volatility that requires the attention of a leader “every minute of every day for the next four years.”
Mr. Furey said Canadians everywhere are feeling that stress and deserve leaders who are up for the fight.
“I know these are uncertain times, and the threat of tariffs and the erratic, unpredictable behaviour of the American President is causing daily stress and even fear,” he said. “I wish I could tell you that this is a short-term concern. Unfortunately, it is the reality, not just of the next four weeks or four months, but the next four years.”
Mr. Furey says he’s leaving having helped lay a “rock-solid foundation for our province moving forward” and pointed to a growing population after decades of out-migration, thousands of affordable daycare spaces, and the creation of new family-care teams for 70,000 people as part of efforts to modernize Newfoundland’s health care system.
One of his government’s biggest accomplishments, he said, was negotiating a new Churchill Falls hydroelectric power deal with Quebec that will provide Newfoundland and Labrador more than $1-billion in annual revenue.
“For those writing us off as bankrupt and future-less, we showed them what being a fighting Newfoundlander and Labradorian was all about,” he said.
Throughout his term, the Premier often looked to history, saying Newfoundland had shown resiliency after the collapse of its cod fishery in the 1990s. Its natural energy resources, he said, will remain a critical part of the province’s future as an “East Coast powerhouse.”
“We persevered through harder times, and we are in the best possible position to do so again. The energy that we have is the energy the world needs right now, and that will only get stronger moving forward,” he said.
The Premier said he was also proud of Newfoundland’s unique approach to supporting Ukrainian refugees after Russia invaded their country three years ago. It involved setting up an immigration desk in Poland to help them resettle in the province.
While serving as Premier, Mr. Furey continued to work occasionally as an orthopedic surgeon, including over 15 days across 2022 and 2023. When he entered politics, he said he intended to do enough surgical work to maintain his licence.
While he’d never held public office prior to becoming Premier, Mr. Furey has deep political roots. His father, George Furey, was the Speaker of the Senate of Canada, and his uncle Chuck Furey was a long-time provincial legislator and served in the cabinet of Clyde Wells.
With a report from the Canadian Press