Clifford Small

Clifford Small MP is a Canadian politician who is the Member of Parliament for Central Newfoundland, having defeated Liberal incumbent Scott Simms by a close margin of 264 votes in the 2021 general election.^[1] He is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He is the first Conservative MP from Newfoundland and Labrador since Peter Penashue resigned in 2013.^[2][3] In Newfoundland alone, he is the first Conservative MP elected since Fabian Manning in 2006.^[4] He was appointed Shadow Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency by Erin O'Toole on November 9, 2021.^[5] He endorsed Pierre Poilievre in the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election. In October 2022, Poilievre appointed him as Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Shadow Minister and he remains shadow minister in 2025.^[6] He was re-elected in 2025.^[7]

Clifford Small MP
Member of Parliament for Central Newfoundland Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame (2021–2025)
Incumbent
Assumed office September 20, 2021
Preceded by	Scott Simms
Personal details
Born	Wild Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	College of the North Atlantic
Profession	Businessman

Biography

Small grew up in Wild Cove, White Bay. He was educated at the College of the North Atlantic and graduated in electrical engineering technology. He worked in engineering design until 1994 when he started a fishing business. Following that, he opened three restaurants.^[8]

Electoral record

v t e 2025 Canadian federal election: Central Newfoundland
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Clifford Small	21,975	54.08	+7.19
	Liberal	Lynette Powell	17,696	43.55	−2.46
	New Democratic	Darian Vincent	965	2.37	−4.73
Total valid votes/expense limit			40,636	98.80
Total rejected ballots			492	1.20
Turnout			41,128	64.95
Eligible voters			63,320
	Conservative notional hold		Swing		+4.83
Source: Elections Canada[9][10]
Note: number of eligible voters does not include voting day registrations.

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election: Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Clifford Small	14,927	46.89	+11.55	$59,241.94
	Liberal	Scott Simms	14,646	46.01	−2.30	$41,577.53
	New Democratic	Jamie Ruby	2,261	7.10	−5.25	$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit			31,834	97.86		$124,135.56
Total rejected ballots			695	2.14	-0.07
Turnout			32,529	51.12	-3.80
Registered voters			63,631
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+6.93
Source: Elections Canada[11][12][13]