David Alward

David Alward
32nd Premier of New Brunswick
In office October 12, 2010 – October 7, 2014
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Lieutenant Governor	Graydon Nicholas
Preceded by	Shawn Graham
Succeeded by	Brian Gallant
MLA for Woodstock
In office June 7, 1999 – May 22, 2015
Preceded by	Bruce Smith
Succeeded by	Stewart Fairgrieve
Personal details
Born	David Nathan Alward (1959-12-02) December 2, 1959 Beverly, Massachusetts, United States
Citizenship	Canada, United States
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s)	Rhonda Lynn Stairs
Children	2
Residence	Riceville, New Brunswick
Occupation	politician
Religion	Baptist

David Nathan Alward (born December 2, 1959) is a Canadian politician, who served as the 32nd Premier of New Brunswick, 2010 to 2014.

Alward has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick since 1999 and has been the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick. His party was defeated on September 22, 2014, and Alward resigned as Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick leader on September 23, 2014. On April 24, 2015 Alward was named Canadian consul general in Boston.

Early life

Alward was born in Beverly, Massachusetts. The son of a minister, Alward moved to Atlantic Canada in his youth where he graduated from high school in Nackawic, New Brunswick. Alward received his post-secondary education in psychology in the United States at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee.

Career

Alward worked as a federal civil servant from 1982 to 1996 when he went into business on his own. He operates a hobby farm where he raises purebred Hereford cattle. He also volunteered as an emergency medical technician and lab instructor with the St. John Ambulance and as a firefighter with the Meductic Fire Department. He served on the board of directors of the Carleton Regional Development Commission and the New Brunswick Hereford Association. He served on the Centennial Elementary School Parent Advisory Committee, the School District 12 Stay-in-School Committee, and the local agricultural employment board. Alward is an active member of his Meductic Church, and a member of the Woodstock Rotary Club.

Political career

He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, as a Progressive Conservative for the riding of Woodstock, in the 1999 election and re-elected in 2003. Following the 2003 election, he joined the cabinet as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture.

On June 19, 2008, Alward became the first candidate in the 2008 Progressive Conservative leadership race. On October 18, 2008, he was elected leader of the party at the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick leadership convention in Fredericton. Alward beat his only opponent, Robert MacLeod, by a margin of 2,269 votes to 1,760.

Premier of New Brunswick

On 27 September 2010, Alward's Progressive Conservatives won 42 of 55 seats to form a majority government. He was sworn in as the premier on 12 October 2010. On 13 May 2011, his government passed the Ownership of Minerals Act.

On 3 December 2012, he and Local Government Minister Bruce Fitch announced a cut in property taxes for businesses, farms, rental properties and cottages.

On 12 March 2014, he and Natural Resources Minister Paul Robichaud unveiled a new forest management plan, entitled "Putting our Resources to Work: A Strategy for Crown Lands Forest Management". This plan increased the annual allowable cut by 20%, and was endorsed by mill owner Jim Irving.

Alward was defeated in the 2014 New Brunswick general election and announced his resignation as party leader on 23 September 2014. He resigned from the legislature on 22 May 2015 after accepting a federal appointment as Canada's Consul General in Boston.