Mary Shortall

Mary Shortall (born October 24, 1958) is a Canadian politician and labour activist who was elected as president of the New Democratic Party in 2023.^[1][2] She also ran as the candidate for St. John's East in the 2021 and 2025 federal elections. She also ran in Gander—Grand Falls at the 1997 federal election, losing all 3 times.^[3][4]

Mary Shortall
President of the New Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office October 15, 2023
Preceded by	Dhananjai Kohli
President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour
In office 2013–2022
Preceded by	Lana Payne
Succeeded by	Jessica McCormick
Personal details
Born	(1958-10-24) October 24, 1958 (age 66) St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Political party	New Democratic Party
Residence(s)	St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Occupation	Politician and trade unionist

Prior to politics, Shortall was the president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour from 2013 to 2022.^[5][6]

Electoral record

v t e 2025 Canadian federal election: St. John's East
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Joanne Thompson	28,681	62.28	+17.14
	Conservative	David Brazil	11,941	25.93	+7.84
	New Democratic	Mary Shortall	5,172	11.23	−23.61
	Green	Otis Crandell	159	0.35	N/A
	Communist	Samuel Crête	98	0.21	N/A
Total valid votes/expense limit			46,051	99.05
Total rejected ballots			440	0.95
Turnout			46,491	70.94
Eligible voters			65,536
	Liberal notional hold		Swing		+4.65
Source: Elections Canada[7][8]
Note: number of eligible voters does not include voting day registrations.

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election: St. John's East
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Joanne Thompson	17,239	45.16	+11.97	$71,466.38
	New Democratic	Mary Shortall	13,090	34.29	–12.63	$65,576.70
	Conservative	Glenn Etchegary	7,119	18.65	+0.59	$44,852.25
	People's	Dana Metcalfe	723	1.89	–	none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit			38,171	99.23		$105,251.87
Total rejected ballots			296	0.77	–0.39
Turnout			38,467	57.45	–10.20
Registered voters			66,963
	Liberal gain from New Democratic		Swing		+12.30
Source: Elections Canada[9][10]

1997 Canadian federal election: Gander—Grand Falls
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Baker	13,409	52.21	-2.81
	Progressive Conservative	Todd Barker	8,652	33.69	+5.30
	New Democratic	Mary Shortall	3,620	14.10	+4.13
Total valid votes			25,681