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Brian Tobin
	Brian Tobin
	Member of Parliament for Bonavista—Trinity—Conception
	In office; 2000 – 2002
Preceded by	Fred Mifflin
Succeeded by	John Efford
	Premier of Newfoundland
	In office; 1996 – 2000
Preceded by	Clyde Wells
Succeeded by	Beaton Tulk
	Member of Parliament for Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte
	In office; 1988 – 1996
Preceded by	First Member
Succeeded by	Gerry Byrne
	Member of Parliament for Humber—Port au Port—St. Barbe
	In office; 1980 – 1988
Preceded by	Fonse Faour
Succeeded by	District abolished in 1988
Born	October 21, 1954; Stephenville, Newfoundland
Political party	Liberal

Brian Vincent Tobin, PC (born October 21, 1954) is a Canadian politician.

[edit] Early life and education

Tobin was born in Stephenville, Newfoundland. He studied political science at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, but did not complete any university degree. He worked a brief stint as a TV news announcer before joining the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador as a political aide to former federal Member of Parliament and Federal Cabinet Minister Don Jamieson.

[edit] Political career

Tobin was first elected to the House of Commons as a Liberal in 1980. Though the Liberals were badly defeated in the 1984 federal election, he retained his seat and went on to gain prominence as a member of the so-called opposition "Rat Pack". He supported Jean Chrétien during the latter's second campaign for leadership of the Liberals in 1990.

[edit] In government

Following the 1993 federal election in which the Liberals regained power from the Progressive Conservatives after almost a decade in opposition, Tobin was appointed Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

In the ministry, Tobin distinguished himself from his colleagues with speeches rife with rhetoric and his youthful exuberance. Throughout 1994 he mounted a fierce campaign against foreign over-fishing of waters on the nose and tail of the Grand Banks, located just outside Canada's declared 200 nautical mile (370 km) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). People across Canada took notice of this new and aggressive posture, a position that had not been taken by a federal minister — Liberal or Conservative — since the EEZ was declared in 1977.

Critics note that Tobin was likely doing this to preserve his political life in his home province. At this point, Newfoundland and Labrador was wracked by rapidly rising unemployment and social unrest over the fiscal situation which many believed had been caused by federal mismanagement of foreign and domestic overfishing. This had resulted in the 1990 "Northern Cod Moratorium." In April 1995, Tobin's department was embroiled in the so-called "Turbot War" which pitted Canada against the European Union. Later that month, Tobin conducted an international news conference from a barge on the East River outside the United Nations headquarters and dramatically displayed an illegal trawl net that had been cut from a Spanish trawler which was arrested outside the Canadian EEZ.

Tobin helped organize a pro-Canada rally in Montreal before the October 1995 Quebec referendum — bussing in thousands of university students and other residents from English Canada. For his roles as Fisheries Minister and in the referendum, he earned the nickname "Captain Canada".

[edit] Premier of Newfoundland

In 1996, Tobin resigned from federal politics to pursue the leadership of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland after the resignation of Premier Clyde Wells. Tobin won handily. Tobin pursued tough negotiations with out-of-province companies seeking to export the resource for refining and smelting elsewhere, insisting that the resource will never be mined unless Newfoundlanders received secondary manufacturing and tertiary service spin-offs. A similar tough stance was taken in seeking to develop the lower Churchill River, keeping in mind the contract his predecessor Joey Smallwood had been forced to sign. Tobin's Liberals won re-election in 1999.

It was also during this time in the lead-up to the millennium that Newfoundland undertook an aggressive tourism marketing campaign which focused on important anniversaries such as the 500th year since John Cabot's voyage of discovery (1997), as well as the 1000th year since Vikings such as Leif Ericson made landfall on the province's shores (2000).

[edit] Return to federal politics

In the fall of 2000, Tobin suddenly resigned to join the federal Cabinet and run for re-election to the House of Commons in a snap election called by the Governor General on the advice of her prime minister, Jean Chrétien. Chrétien advised that his friend be appointed as Minister of Industry before the election, replacing John Manley, and Tobin was easily elected in the riding of Bonavista—Trinity—Conception. His departure from the premiership caused speculation among Newfoundlanders and Canadians about his aspirations for the leadership of the federal Liberals following what was assumed would be Chrétien's final term as prime minister. Tobin's position in Industry would allow him to develop a relationship with the nation's business leaders who would ultimately be financing any potential leadership campaign. In the winter of 2002, Tobin abruptly resigned both his cabinet portfolio and parliament seat. Observers interpreted that his departure of federal politics was due to his frustration at the stranglehold on the future leadership of the Liberal party by the then Minister of Finance, Paul Martin, and possibly because Chrétien had promoted John Manley to Deputy Prime Minister, which designated Manley as the preferred successor.

[edit] Post-political career

In retirement from politics, Tobin has served on the board of several Canadian corporations. He became CEO of Magna International Developments (MID), controller of Magna's vast real estate and horse track holdings, the latter through Magna Entertainment Corporation. After only a few months in the position, he left after disagreements with Magna chairman and controlling shareholder Frank Stronach. The dispute was supposedly over the propriety of a share buy-back program, while others suggested that it was because Stronach would not give Tobin autonomy to operate. He is now a Senior Business Advisor with Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP in Toronto and a member of the firm's Public Policy Group. He has authored an auto-biography - All In Good Time.

With the defeat of the Liberals in the 2006 Canadian federal election to Stephen Harper's Conservatives, Prime Minister Martin resigned from the leadership of the party. There were frequent rumors that Tobin, and other former cabinet colleagues Allan Rock and John Manley would run to succeed Martin. On January 31, 2006, Tobin officially announced that he would not be running for the federal Liberal leadership.

Mr. Tobin joined the conservative think-tank, the Fraser Institute in 2008. In the past, Tobin had referred to the Fraser Institute and its Fellows as "Loony-Tunes".^[1]

Mr. Tobin is a member of the Rideau View Country Club, a golf club located in Manotick, Ontario.

[edit] References

^ [1]

[edit] External links

Federal Political Biography from the Library of Parliament

Cabinet Posts (4)
26th Ministry - Government of Jean Chrétien
Predecessor	Office	Successor
John Manley	Minister of Industry 2000–2002	Allan Rock
John Manley	Minister of Western Economic Diversification 2000–2002	Allan Rock
John Manley	Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency 2000–2002	Allan Rock
Ross Reid	Minister of Fisheries and Oceans 1993–1996	Fred Mifflin
Special Cabinet Responsibilities
Predecessor	Title	Successor
John Manley	Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec 2000–2002	vacant, later Lucienne Robillard

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