Wayne Gaudet

Wayne Jean Gaudet^[1] (born August 12, 1955) is a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Clare in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1993 to 2013. He is a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.

The Honourable Wayne Gaudet
MLA for Clare
In office May 25, 1993 – October 8, 2013
Preceded by	Guy LeBlanc
Succeeded by	riding dissolved
Interim Leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party
In office January 12, 2004 – October 23, 2004
Preceded by	Danny Graham
Succeeded by	Francis MacKenzie
Interim Leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party
In office July 1, 2000 – April 13, 2002
Preceded by	Russell MacLellan
Succeeded by	Danny Graham
Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly
In office November 18, 1996 – November 20, 1997
Preceded by	Paul MacEwan
Succeeded by	Gerry Fogarty
Personal details
Born	Wayne Jean Gaudet (1955-08-12) August 12, 1955 (age 69) Concession, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Residence(s)	Clare, Nova Scotia, Canada
Occupation	teacher

Early life

Born in Concession, Nova Scotia, he graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts at the Université Sainte-Anne and then received a Bachelor of Education at Saint Mary's University. He later settled in Church Point where he worked as a teacher and a high school vice principal.

Political career

Gaudet was first elected in 1993,^[2] and appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia on June 11, 1993, as Minister of Agriculture.^[3] Gaudet served in a number of other cabinet posts during the 1990s, including Minister of Human Resources, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, Minister of Education and Culture, Minister of Business and Consumer Affairs, and Minister responsible for Acadian Affairs.^[4] He also served as Speaker of the House.^[5] He served as interim leader of the party from 2000 to 2002, after Russell MacLellan's resignation and before Danny Graham was elected leader.^[6] Gaudet also served as interim leader after Graham's resignation and before Francis MacKenzie's election.^[7]

On January 18, 2013, Gaudet announced that he will not be running in the next provincial election, in part due to the new electoral map.^[4][8]

Electoral record

2009 Nova Scotia general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wayne Gaudet	3,392	64.68
	New Democratic Party	Paul Comeau	1,326	25.29
	Progressive Conservative	Jimmy Doucet	459	8.75
	Green	Diane Bean	67	1.28	–

2006 Nova Scotia general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wayne Gaudet	2,803	48.53
	Progressive Conservative	Arnold LeBlanc	1,622	28.08
	New Democratic Party	Paul Comeau	1,269	21.97
	Green	Diane Doucet-Bean	82	1.42	–

2003 Nova Scotia general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wayne Gaudet	3,547	61.55
	Progressive Conservative	Marc Boudreau	1,456	25.26
	New Democratic Party	Don Melanson	760	13.19

1999 Nova Scotia general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wayne Gaudet	2,705	43.76
	Progressive Conservative	Paul Comeau	2,355	38.10
	New Democratic Party	Don Melanson	1,078	17.44
	Nova Scotia Party	Anne Marie Boyer	43	0.70

1998 Nova Scotia general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wayne Gaudet	2,950	47.28
	Progressive Conservative	Guy LeBlanc	2,578	41.32
	New Democratic Party	Vanessa Paddock	711	11.40

1993 Nova Scotia general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wayne Gaudet	3,461	51.99
	Progressive Conservative	Guy LeBlanc	2,854	42.87
	New Democratic Party	Christian Collin	342	5.14

References

1. Nova Scotia Legislature
2. "Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1993" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. 1993. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
3. "Historic Liberal cabinet sworn in". The Chronicle Herald. June 12, 1993. Archived from the original on August 30, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
4. "Gaudet quitting provincial politics". The Chronicle Herald. January 18, 2013. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
5. "MacLellan makeover". The Chronicle Herald. July 19, 1997. Archived from the original on February 4, 1998. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
6. "N.S. Liberals pick new leader". CBC News. April 13, 2002. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
7. "Businessman elected leader of Nova Scotia Liberals". CBC News. October 23, 2004. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
8. "Liberal MLA Wayne Gaudet won't run in next election". CBC News. January 18, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2014.

• 36th Conference of the Canadian Region of CPA, Regina, Canadian Parliamentary Review
• Entry from Canadian Who's Who