predecessor successor imagesize party office birth_date term_start residence article_title name occupation
lorraine michael incumbent 225px new democratic party leader of the newfoundland and labrador new democratic party 1950 march 7 , 2015 st. john 's , newfoundland and labrador earle mccurdy
 earle mccurdy labour leader
earle mccurdy

earle mccurdy -lrb- born 1950 -rrb- is the leader of the newfoundland and labrador new democratic party and a former labour leader in newfoundland and labrador .
he was president of the fish , food and allied workers union from 1993 to 2014 , succeeding founding president richard cashin .
previously , mccurdy was the union 's secretary-treasurer for 13 years , from 1980 to 1993 .
he was elected leader of the newfoundland and labrador ndp at the party 's leadership convention held march 7 , 2015 , defeating two other contenders .
mccurdy grew up in st. john 's , newfoundland and labrador and attended prince of wales collegiate .
he is a graduate of memorial university of newfoundland , where he obtained his bachelor of arts in 1972 , and worked as a reporter for `` the st. john 's evening telegram '' in the 1970s , covering the labour beat , before becoming involved with the fisheries ' union .
his most notable act as union president was helping to manage canada 's fishing dispute with the european union , known as the turbot war .
