Yvonne Jones

Yvonne Jean Jones (born March 15, 1968) is a Canadian politician in Newfoundland and Labrador, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on May 13, 2013.

She represents the district of Labrador as a member of the Liberal Party caucus.

Jones served as mayor of Mary's Harbour, Labrador from 1991 to 1996.

From 1996 to 2013, Jones represented the district of Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly.

During her career in provincial politics, she served as Minister of Fisheries in Premier Roger Grimes' government, and later as a leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador and Leader of the Official Opposition.

Jones has training in journalism and has worked for many community newspapers throughout the province.

She has also served as an employment counselor and field worker for the Battle Harbour Development Association with Human Resources Development Canada.

In 1996, she sought the Liberal Party nomination for the provincial electoral district of Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair in that year's general election.

Jones lost the nomination to incumbent Danny Dumaresque, but subsequently ran as an Independent candidate.

She was elected to the House of Assembly in the 1996 general election, defeating Dumaresque, a two-term MHA.

Jones became the Liberal Party's candidate for the 1999 election.

She was re-elected in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011.

After serving two years as a Parliamentary Secretary Jones was appointed to cabinet In February 2003, by Premier Roger Grimes.

She was sworn in as the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and as the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women.

Jones held the post till the Liberal government was defeated in the provincial election in October of that year.

In 2004, Jones was the only member of the House of Assembly to vote against the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement (Bill 44).

During the legislative debate Jones stated "The proposed treaty we have before us today is very complex. I certainly do not think and I know it was not the intention of the LIA [Labrador Inuit Association] to stigmatize or exclude the possibility for settlement of a claim with Metis people. I know that, Mr. Speaker. I have asked the government to give me the greatest assurances possible that this treaty would not prejudice the future acceptance of a claim for Metis in Labrador. Those assurances have not been satisfactory to the leadership of the Labrador Metis Nation, to their President, Todd Russell, to their elders and their members, and therefore, Mr. Speaker, it is not satisfactory to me".

During this debate Jones also stated "I am a Metis and I am very proud of who I am. I am descendant from the bloodline of Inuit and the English".

Jones was an outspoken critic of the Muskrat Falls hydro development.

Jones was one of only three Liberal Members of the House of Assembly (MHA) re-elected in the 2007 provincial election.

On November 15, 2007, she was named the interim leader of the Liberal Party and Official Opposition Leader, after party leader Gerry Reid was defeated in his own district.

Jones became the first woman to lead the Liberal Party in the province.

After receiving 22% in the 2007 general election, the party's support has not risen above those levels.

For the majority of time since the election their support has been in the mid-teens according to polls conducted by Corporate Research Associates (CRA).

Jones' own popularity had consistently remained lower than her own party's; CRA's quarterly polls on Newfoundland and Labrador politics have found that no more than 11% of those surveyed have felt Jones would make the best premier.

The party originally planned to hold a leadership convention to select a new, permanent leader in 2008, but postponed the vote twice.

Jones continued to serve as interim leader during this period of time, and in December 2009, announced her intention to run for the permanent leadership when the convention was to be scheduled.

On October 27, 2009, the district of The Straits – White Bay North held a by-election, to replace Minister of Transportation and Works, Trevor Taylor, who resigned on October 2, 2009.

Liberal candidate Marshall Dean won the election taking nearly 48% of the vote and defeating the Progressive Conservative candidate by 126 votes.

Under Jones' leadership the Liberal Party remained in second place in public opinion polls.

On July 30, 2010, Jones was acclaimed Liberal leader after she was the only person to file nomination papers for the position.

She was expected to be sworn in as leader at the party's convention in November of that year, however the convention was delayed when Jones announced in August that she would be taking a leave of absence from her position to undergo treatment for breast cancer.

She returned to work in early 2011, and was sworn in as Liberal leader at the party's Spring leadership convention.

A NTV Telelink poll conducted in February 2011, found that 13% of decided voters would support the Liberal Party and that 12% thought Jones was the best choice to be premier.

The results of the NTV Telelink poll led former Liberal provincial and federal cabinet minister John Efford to criticize Jones's leadership.

Efford said that Jones would not become premier and while he did not call on her to resign as leader, he did say that "it's clear what she ought to do in the face of poor polling results".

A CRA poll in March 2011, saw Jones' personal popularity rise to 18%, her highest level since becoming Liberal leader in 2007.

Her personal popularity was also tied with that of her party.

On December 2, 2015, she was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

Jones is a member of NunatuKavut, an unrecognized Inuit group.