Seamus O'Regan explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Seamus O'Regan
Office:Minister of Seniors
Primeminister:Justin Trudeau
Term Start:July 26, 2023
Term End:July 19, 2024
Predecessor:Kamal Khera
Successor:Steven MacKinnon
Office1:Minister of Labour
Primeminister1:Justin Trudeau
Term Start1:October 26, 2021
Term End1:July 19, 2024
Predecessor1:Filomena Tassi
Successor1:Steven MacKinnon
Office2:Minister of Natural Resources
Term Start2:November 20, 2019
Term End2:October 26, 2021
Predecessor2:Amarjeet Sohi
Successor2:Jonathan Wilkinson
Office3:Minister of Indigenous Services
Term Start3:January 14, 2019
Term End3:November 20, 2019
Predecessor3:Jane Philpott
Successor3:Marc Miller
Parliament4:Canadian
Term Start4:August 28, 2017
Term End4:January 14, 2019
Predecessor4:Kent Hehr
Successor4:Jody Wilson-Raybould
Office4:Minister of Veterans Affairs
Associate Minister of National Defence
Parliament5:Canadian
Riding5:St. John's South—Mount Pearl
Term Start5:October 19, 2015
Predecessor5:Ryan Cleary
Birth Name:Seamus Thomas Harris O'Regan
Birth Date:January 18, 1971
Birth Place:St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Party:Liberal
Residence:St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador[1]
Alma Mater:

Seamus Thomas Harris O'Regan (born January 18, 1971) is a Canadian politician and a former cabinet minister in the government of Justin Trudeau. He resigned from cabinet effective July 19, 2024.[2] A member of the Liberal Party, O'Regan was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015, representing St. John's South—Mount Pearl. He was appointed to Cabinet in 2017, and served as minister of natural resources from 2019 to 2021, minister of Indigenous services in 2019, and minister of veterans affairs and associate minister of national defence from 2017 to 2019 and minister of labour from October 26, 2021 until July 19, 2024 and minister of seniors from July 26, 2023 until July 19, 2024.

Before he entered politics, O'Regan was a correspondent with CTV National News, and a host of Canada AM, which he co-hosted from 2003 to 2011 with Beverly Thomson.[3]

Early life and education

O'Regan was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, and spent 14 years growing up in Goose Bay, graduating from Goose High School. O'Regan is of half Irish descent. His father, also named Seamus O'Regan, was a judge of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.[4] At the age of 10, O'Regan became a regional correspondent for CBC Radio's children's show Anybody Home?, producing stories that celebrated the unique accomplishments of local residents, ranging from a professor hunting for giant squid to one woman's fight against leukemia.

He studied politics at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and at University College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. He studied marketing strategies at INSEAD, an international business school near Paris, France. He received his Masters of Philosophy in Politics from the University of Cambridge, studying at Darwin College in Cambridge, England.[5] [6]

Career

He has worked as an assistant to Environment Minister Jean Charest in Ottawa and to Justice Minister Edward Roberts in St. John's, and was policy advisor and speechwriter to Premier Brian Tobin of Newfoundland and Labrador.[7] In December 1999, O'Regan was named as one of Maclean's 100 Young Canadians to Watch in the 21st century.

In 2000, O'Regan joined talktv's current affairs program, the chatroom. He began his duties at Canada AM on December 19, 2001. On November 8, 2011, he announced that he would be leaving Canada AM on November 24, 2011, to become a correspondent for CTV National News.[3] O'Regan left CTV in 2012.[8] Since leaving CTV, he was occasionally a fill-in host on radio station CFRB in Toronto, ⁣[9] and worked on independent television productions and as a media innovator in residence at Ryerson University. O'Regan also served as the executive vice president for communications of the Stronach Group.[10]

Political career

In September 2014, O'Regan was nominated as the Liberal Party candidate in the Newfoundland and Labrador riding of St. John's South—Mount Pearl for the 2015 federal election.[11] On October 19, 2015, O'Regan won the election, defeating New Democrat incumbent Ryan Cleary.[12] [13] He was appointed to the cabinet on August 28, 2017, as the minister of veterans affairs[14] and on January 14, 2019, was made the minister of Indigenous services, vacating his previous post.

He was re-elected in the 2019 federal election. Following the election, he was appointed minister of natural resources. He was re-elected again in the 2021 federal election.[15]

O'Regan served as minister of labour from 2021 and expanded his portfolio to also include minister of seniors during the 2023 cabinet shuffle.[16] As the labour minister, O'Regan was involved in the BC port workers strike between International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and the BC Maritime Employers Association, which included a 13 day work stoppage in the summer of 2023,[17] [18] [19] as well as the strike of WestJet's aircraft mechanics in the summer of 2024.[20]

In July 2024, CBC reported that O'Regan would resign from cabinet for family reasons, but would continue to serve as a Member of Parliament until the next election, expected in 2025.[21]

Personal life

On July 9, 2010, O'Regan married his longtime partner, Steve Doussis, in Newfoundland.[22]

O'Regan serves on the Boards of Katimavik, Canada's leading youth service-learning program, and The Rooms, which houses the provincial art gallery, museum, and archives of Newfoundland and Labrador. He also sits on the board of directors for fellow Newfoundlander Allan Hawco's theatre company, The Company Theatre, located in Toronto.

In January 2016, O’Regan announced that he entered an alcoholism rehabilitation program.[23] [24]

In November 2017, he was hospitalised in Ottawa for a major gastrointestinal obstruction.[25] Shortly after the November 2020 death of his father Seamus Bernard O'Regan (1942–2020), Natural Resources Canada announcements began to give his name as Seamus O'Regan Jr.; previous announcements did not use the "Jr." suffix.[26] [27] [28]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Official Voting Results. Elections Canada. January 23, 2021.
  2. News: Labour minister Seamus O'Regan leaving cabinet . July 18, 2024 . CBC News . July 18, 2024.
  3. News: Seamus O'Regan joining CTV National News as correspondent. https://web.archive.org/web/20120331210706/http://m.ctv.ca/topstories/20111108/seamus-oregan-111108.html. dead. March 31, 2012. CTV News. November 8, 2011. 2011-11-09.
  4. Web site: Mulcair, Trudeau cross swords in Newfoundland where NDP and Liberals are in battle . . 20 September 2015 . 20 September 2015 . Dyer, Evan.
  5. Web site: Seamus O'Regan, Correspondent, CTV National News. CTV. 13 January 2012.
  6. News: Stephens . Lisa . May 7, 2007 . Seamus O'Regan, 35 Ontario . live . . Toronto, Ontario . https://web.archive.org/web/20240125015121/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/seamus-oregan-35-ontario/article20397159/ . January 25, 2024 . January 24, 2024.
  7. Web site: Seamus O'Regan - Summary Profile. National Speakers Bureau. 12 December 2011.
  8. News: Seamus O'Regan to run for Liberals in St. John's. August 18, 2014. CTV News. August 12, 2014.
  9. http://www.thegridto.com/city/people/seamus-oregan-mental-health-spokesman/ "Seamus O'Regan: Mental health spokesman"
  10. Web site: Seamus O'Regan seeks federal Liberal nomination in Nfld. . . 18 August 2014 . 10 June 2024 . Canadian Press . Canadian Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20140818170209/https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/seamus-oregan-seeks-federal-liberal-nomination-in-newfoundland/ . 18 August 2014.
  11. Web site: Seamus O'Regan takes Liberal nomination in St. John's South-Mount Pearl. CBC News. September 23, 2014. 2015-10-22.
  12. Web site: Seamus O'Regan upsets Ryan Cleary for Liberal win in St. John's South-Mount Pearl. CBC News. October 20, 2015. 2015-10-22.
  13. Web site: Liberals sweep all 7 N.L. ridings in federal election. CBC News. October 19, 2015. 2015-10-22.
  14. News: Indigenous Affairs department split, Seamus O'Regan new veterans minister in cabinet shakeup . . 2017-08-27 . 2017-08-27.
  15. Web site: Federal election 2021 live results.
  16. Web site: Trudeau overhauls his cabinet, drops 7 ministers and shuffles most portfolios . CBC.
  17. Web site: 2023-08-09 . B.C. port strike: Federal labour minister launches review to uncover 'structural issues' . 2023-08-10 . British Columbia . en.
  18. Web site: B.C. port dispute ends as workers vote to accept new deal . CBC.
  19. Web site: Terms of deal that ended B.C. port strike revealed Globalnews.ca . 2023-08-10 . Global News . en-US.
  20. News: WestJet Strike: Airline calls on feds to act after 800 flights cancelled . Christopher . Reynolds . Dirk . Meissner . Vancouver Sun . The Canadian Press . 2024-06-30 . 2024-07-18.
  21. Web site: Labour minister Seamus O'Regan leaving cabinet. David. Cochrane. Michael. Woods. cbc.ca. July 18, 2024. live. July 18, 2024. http://web.archive.org/web/20240718164211/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/oregan-leaving-cabinet-1.7267551.
  22. News: CTV anchor Seamus O'Regan to leave Canada AM for CTV National News. Takeuchi. Craig. The Georgia Straight. Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corporation. November 8, 2011. 2015-11-13.
  23. News: Liberal MP Seamus O'Regan checks into wellness program seeking 'alcohol free lifestyle' . . . 2016-01-03 . 2016-01-04.
  24. News: Seamus O'Regan draws from his own personal struggles as Veterans Affairs Minister. 2020-03-31.
  25. Web site: VOCM - Minister O'Regan Still in Hospital, Will Attend Remembrance Ceremony. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20171110173251/http://vocm.com/news/minister-oregan-still-in-hospital-will-attend-remembrance-ceremony/ . 10 November 2017 .
  26. News: Justice Seamus O'Regan, a pillar of Newfoundland and Labrador's justice system, died this week at age 79. David. Maher. The Telegram. November 20, 2020. January 18, 2021.
  27. Web site: Canada Raising Awareness for Electric Vehicles in Newfoundland and Labrador. Natural Resources Canada (press release). January 13, 2021. January 13, 2021. The Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, today announced[...].
  28. Web site: Celebrating Indigenous Leadership in Clean Energy. Natural Resources Canada (press release). December 22, 2020. January 13, 2021. The Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, today announced[...].