Zach Churchill
Zachariah Churchill (born May 25, 1984) is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia. He is a current member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly having served since June 2010.
Zach Churchill | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for Yarmouth | |
| Assumed office June 22, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Hurlburt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 25, 1984 Yarmouth, Nova Scotia |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Occupation | politician |
Early life and education
Churchill graduated from Saint Mary's University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts.[1] He served as National Director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations from 2007 to 2009.[2][3]
Political career
Churchill successfully ran for the nomination of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party in the riding of Yarmouth in May 2010.[4] He won the by-election held on June 22, 2010 which was contested between six mostly high-profile candidates. Churchill garnered just over half the popular vote, defeating a former MLA John Deveau, a former 20-year mayor of the Town of Yarmouth Charles Crosby and two minor party leaders.[5] He became the first Lebanese Canadian elected to the Nova Scotia legislature.
Churchill was re-elected in the 2013 general election.[3][6] On October 22, 2013, Churchill was appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia as Minister of Natural Resources.[7]
On July 24, 2015, premier Stephen McNeil shuffled his cabinet, moving Churchill to Minister of Municipal Affairs and Minister of Communications Nova Scotia.[8][9][10]
On June 15, 2017, Churchill was shuffled to Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.[11][12]
Churchill was re-elected in the 2017 and 2021 provincial elections.
Allegations of Inappropriate Behaviour
In 2019, a former MLA and one sitting MLA, PC Leader Tim Houston, alleged that they had been accosted by Churchill. They described the two separate incidents as both verbally and physically threatening.[13] Churchill admitted that he could be "confrontational", but denied any physical altercations. However, Maureen MacDonald, former Leader of the NSNDP, claims she saw Churchill become physical with a member of her caucus.[14]
Electoral record
| 2021 Nova Scotia general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Zach Churchill | 4,344 | 56.32 | -11.85 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Candice Clairmont | 2,856 | 37.03 | +11.53 | ||||
| New Democratic | SJ Rogers | 322 | 4.17 | +1.09 | ||||
| Green | Adam Randall | 191 | 2.48 | -0.76 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 7,713 | 99.56 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 34 | 0.44 | ||||||
| Turnout | 7,747 | 55.17 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 14,041 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -11.69 | ||||||
| 2017 Nova Scotia general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Zach Churchill | 5,364 | 68.17 | -13.91 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Mitch Bonnar | 2,007 | 25.50 | +11.19 | ||||
| Green | Jim Laverie | 255 | 3.24 | +2.26 | ||||
| New Democratic | David Olie | 243 | 3.08 | +0.44 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Zach Churchill | 6,975 | 82.08 | +31.43 | |
| Progressive Conservative | John Cunningham | 1,216 | 14.31 | -19.10 | |
| New Democratic Party | Charles Webster | 224 | 2.64 | -3.88 | |
| Green | Vanessa Goodwin-Clairmont | 83 | 0.98 | -0.36 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Zach Churchill | 3,984 | 50.65 | +36.58 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Charles Crosby | 2,628 | 33.41 | -27.93 | |
| Independent | Belle Hatfield | 673 | 8.56 | Ø | |
| New Democratic Party | John Deveau | 513 | 6.52 | -16.41 | |
| Green | John Percy | 49 | 0.62 | -1.04 | |
| Atlantica | Jonathan Dean | 19 | 0.24 | Ø | |
References
- Maroon & White - Winter 2009 Saint Mary's University
- Churchill Nears End with CASA Yarmouth Vanguard
- "Former student leader wins big in Nova Scotia election". Maclean's. October 9, 2013. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
- "Zach Churchill wins Liberal nomination". The Vanguard. May 8, 2010. Retrieved 2014-09-19.
- "Liberals win 2 N.S. byelections". CBC News. June 22, 2010.
- "Landslide win for Zach Churchill". The Vanguard. October 8, 2013. Retrieved 2014-09-19.
- "Premier Stephen McNeil welcomes 16-member cabinet". CBC News. October 22, 2013. Retrieved 2014-09-19.
- "Andrew Younger sworn back in to cabinet after shuffle". CBC News. July 24, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
- "Cabinet shuffle: Whalen out as finance minister, Younger back in". The Chronicle Herald. July 24, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
- "Premier shuffles cabinet, Andrew Younger returns, Diana Whalen moves to justice". Metro. Halifax. July 24, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
- "Stephen McNeil shuffles cabinet, but vows not to change course". CBC News. June 15, 2017. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
- "N.S. cabinet unveiled: Casey now deputy premier, finance minister". The Chronicle Herald. June 15, 2017. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
- "Former MLAs accuse N.S. education minister of 'pattern of inappropriate behaviour'". Global News. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
- "N.S. education minister denies allegations of physical confrontation with former MLAs". Global News. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
External links
 | ||