Tammy Scott-Wallace
Tammy Scott-Wallace | |
|---|---|
 Scott-Wallace in 2024 | |
| Minister of Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister responsible for Women's Equality | |
| Assumed office September 29, 2020 | |
| Premier | Blaine Higgs |
| Preceded by | Bruce Fitch |
| Member of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly for Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins | |
| Assumed office September 14, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Bruce Northrup |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Belleisle, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Political party | Progressive Conservatives |
Tammy Scott-Wallace is a Canadian Progressive Conservative politician who has represented Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick since 2020.[1] Prior to running for politics, Scott-Wallace worked as an award-winning journalist for over 25 years, with the majority of those years spent writing for the Kings County Record and the Telegraph-Journal.
Scott-Wallace is a member of the Executive Council of New Brunswick, serving as Minister of Tourism, Heritage and Culture, as well as Minister responsible for Women's Equality.[2] She is the first woman to be elected to represent the riding of Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins.
Early life
After growing up in Belleisle and graduating from Belleisle Regional High School, Scott-Wallace attended Mount Allison University's political science program before transferring to the journalism program at Holland College.[3] From there, she launched a 25-year career as a journalist, writing for the Kings County Record and Telegraph-Journal for the bulk of her career.[3]
Political career
First election
Following the retirement of long-time Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins MLA Bruce Northrup, Scott-Wallace secured the Progressive Conservative nomination for the riding in the 2020 New Brunswick general election.[4] Despite the riding being known as a conservative stronghold, the unpopularity of scrapped healthcare reform proposals left the party's standing in the region to be questioned.[4] Assuring voters that the proposed changes would not be re-tabled by her party, Scott-Wallace was able to win Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins with a majority of the vote. In doing so, she became the first woman to represent the riding in the provincial legislature.
2020–present: Minister of Tourism, Heritage and Culture
As a freshman in the legislature, Premier Blaine Higgs appointed Scott-Wallace to his cabinet as Minister of Tourism, Heritage and Culture on September 29, 2020.[5] She took over the mandate in the midst of the tourism sector's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Scott-Wallace was also appointed Minister responsible for Women's Equality[5]
In 2024, Scott-Wallace and her deputy minister came under scrutiny from opposition members as a result of a week-long vacation they took to the United Kingdom and France. The trip, which had a total cost of CA$22,527 in taxpayer funds paid by the government, saw the staffers stay at two luxury hotels while additionally billing the government for a British Museum tour as well as for riding the London Eye. The trips, described as "Tourism Mission — Europe" on its financial statement, was critiqued as "a vacation with a few meetings here and there to justify it" by Liberal critic of tourism Isabelle Thériault.[6][7] Scott-Wallace came under further scrutiny for spending $5,200 in taxpayer dollars to attend a cruise ship conference in Miami, Florida.[8]
Electoral record
Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins
| 2020 New Brunswick general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Tammy Scott-Wallace | 4,366 | 56.29 | +6.83 | ||||
| People's Alliance | Jim Bedford | 1,321 | 17.03 | -7.26 | ||||
| Liberal | Cully Robinson | 971 | 12.52 | -3.19 | ||||
| Green | Tim Thompson | 969 | 12.49 | +5.95 | ||||
| New Democratic | Jonas Lanz | 129 | 1.66 | -1.63 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 7,756 | |||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 20 | 0.26 | +0.14 | |||||
| Turnout | 7,776 | 64.92 | +0.87 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 11,978 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | +7.04 | ||||||
References
- ^ "Live New Brunswick election results 2020: Real-time results in the provincial election". Global News. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
- ^ Government of New Brunswick, Canada (29 Sep 2020). "Swearing-in ceremony held". www2.gnb.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- ^ a b "About Me". Tammy Scott-Wallace. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
- ^ a b Perry, Brad. "Candidate Spotlight: Tammy Scott-Wallace". Country 94. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
- ^ a b "New Brunswick swears in 16-member cabinet, including five newly elected members". Atlantic.CTVnews. 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
- ^ "'Conscience is clear': N.B. tourism minister, deputy expense $22,500 for Euro trip". CTV Atlantic. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ Poitras, Jacques (23 April 2024). "N.B. tourism minister defends pricey trip to United Kingdom, France". CBC News. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ Chilibeck, John (May 17, 2024). "Embattled N.B. tourism minister's latest trip to Miami cost thousands". SaltWire. The Daily Gleaner. Retrieved June 29, 2024.