Tony Wakeham

Tony Wakeham (Born July 16, 1956) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly in the 2019 provincial election, and was re-elected in the 2021 provincial election.^[2][3] He represents the electoral district of Stephenville-Port au Port as a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Progressive Conservative Party. On January 17, 2023, Wakeham announced he would be a candidate in the 2023 provincial PC leadership election.^[4] He won the election and became Leader of the Opposition.^[5]

Tony Wakeham MHA
Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
Incumbent
Assumed office October 14, 2023[1]
Preceded by	David Brazil (interim)
Leader of the Opposition (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Incumbent
Assumed office October 14, 2023
Preceded by	David Brazil (interim)
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for Stephenville-Port au Port
Incumbent
Assumed office May 16, 2019
Preceded by	John Finn
Personal details
Born	(1956-07-16) July 16, 1956 (age 69)
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Residence	Kippens, Newfoundland and Labrador
Occupation	Public servant Businessman

In 2018, Wakeham ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, but was defeated by St. John's lawyer Ches Crosbie. The final tally was Crosbie with 2,298.92 and Wakeham with 1,701.08 points respectively.^[6][7][8]

Prior to entering politics, Wakeham was the CEO of Labrador-Grenfell Health Authority, was a franchisee of many KFC restaurants^[9][10] and has served as the President of both the Newfoundland and Labrador Basketball Association and Basketball Canada.

Election results

2023 leadership election

(Voting Held October 4–14, 2023) ^[11]

  = Eliminated from next round

  = Winner

Point allocation by ballot

Candidate	Ballot 1	Ballot 2
Name	Votes	Votes
Tony Wakeham	1,816 45.4%	2,091 52.0%
Eugene Manning	1,636 40.9%	1,909 48.0%
Lloyd Parrott	548 13.7%	Eliminated
Total Points	4,000.00	4,000.00

Provincial elections

v t e 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador general election: Stephenville-Port au Port
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Tony Wakeham	2,481	59.67	+9.36
	Liberal	Kevin Aylward	1,574	37.85	-11.83
	New Democratic	Jamie Ruby	103	2.48
Total valid votes			4,158
Total rejected ballots
Turnout
Eligible voters
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		+10.60
Source(s) "Officially Nominated Candidates General Election 2021" (PDF). Elections Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved 3 March 2021. "NL Election 2021 (Unofficial Results)". Retrieved 27 March 2021.

2019 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Tony Wakeham	2,512
	Liberal	John Finn	2,481
Total valid votes
Total rejected ballots
Turnout
Eligible voters

2018 Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership election

Point allocation by ballot

Candidate	Ballot 1
Name	Points
Ches Crosbie	2,298.92 57.47%
Tony Wakeham	1,701.08 42.53%
Total points	4,000.00