Clifford Small
Clifford Small | |
|---|---|
 Small in 2021 | |
| Member of Parliament for Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame Central Newfoundland (2025–2026) | |
| Assumed office September 20, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Scott Simms |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 29, 1970 Wild Cove, Newfoundland, Canada |
| Party | Conservative |
| Education | College of the North Atlantic |
| Profession | Businessman |
Clifford Small MP (born August 29, 1970) is a Canadian politician who is the Member of Parliament for Central Newfoundland, having defeated Liberal incumbent Scott Simms by a close margin of 264 votes in the 2021 general election.[1] He is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He is the first Conservative MP from Newfoundland and Labrador since Peter Penashue resigned in 2013.[2][3] In Newfoundland alone, he is the first Conservative MP elected since Fabian Manning in 2006.[4] He was appointed Shadow Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency by Erin O'Toole on November 9, 2021.[5] He endorsed Pierre Poilievre in the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election. In October 2022, Poilievre appointed him as Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Shadow Minister and he remains shadow minister in 2025.[6] He was re-elected in 2025.[7]
Biography
[edit]Small grew up in Wild Cove, White Bay. He was educated at the College of the North Atlantic and graduated in electrical engineering technology. He worked in engineering design until 1994 when he started a fishing business.
He subsequently opened three restaurants, including two Smitty's franchise locations.[8] In May 2026, Small became the subject of two lawsuits totalling over $353,000 in connection with his Smitty's franchise in Mount Pearl, which he had operated since 2004. A property owner sued for unpaid restaurant rent, while the City of Mount Pearl separately sued his company for failing to pay utility taxes from 2019 to 2025 and business taxes from 2021 to 2025, seeking a combined $120,696 in unpaid taxes, interest, and costs.[9] Both of Small's Smitty's franchises were closed without warning in June 2026.[10]
At the time of the 2025 Canadian federal election, he lived in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.[11]
Electoral record
[edit]| 2025 Canadian federal election: Central Newfoundland | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Clifford Small | 21,975 | 54.08 | +7.19 | $81,223.89 | |||
| Liberal | Lynette Powell | 17,696 | 43.55 | −2.46 | $94,503.27 | |||
| New Democratic | Darian Vincent | 965 | 2.37 | −4.73 | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 40,636 | 98.80 | +0.94 | $145,078.76 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 492 | 1.20 | -0.94 | |||||
| Turnout | 41,128 | 64.17 | +13.05 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 64,095 | |||||||
| Conservative notional hold | Swing | +4.83 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[12] | ||||||||
| 2021 Canadian federal election: Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Clifford Small | 14,927 | 46.89 | +11.55 | $59,241.94 | |||
| Liberal | Scott Simms | 14,646 | 46.01 | −2.30 | $41,577.53 | |||
| New Democratic | Jamie Ruby | 2,261 | 7.10 | −5.25 | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 31,834 | 97.86 | $124,135.56 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 695 | 2.14 | -0.07 | |||||
| Turnout | 32,529 | 51.12 | -3.80 | |||||
| Registered voters | 63,631 | |||||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +6.93 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[13][14][15] | ||||||||
References
[edit]- ↑ Darrell Roberts, "Conservative Clifford Small wins Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame". CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador, September 25, 2021.
- ↑ "Innu leader delivers Conservatives from N.L. shutout". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. May 2, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
- ↑ "Liberals take Labrador, as Jones wins big over Penashue". CBC News. May 13, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
- ↑ "Goose egg: Conservative vote collapses in N.L. | CBC News".
- ↑ "Conservative MP Clifford Small named opposition shadow minister for ACOA". NTV News. November 14, 2021.
- ↑ Zimonjic, Peter; Cullen, Catherine (October 12, 2022). "Poilievre unveils critics list, pits Alberta MP Jasraj Singh Hallan against Chrystia Freeland". CBC News.
- ↑ "Profile". Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Liberals flip St. John's East, trail in Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame". CBC News. September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ↑ Cole, Abby (May 28, 2026). "N.L. MP Clifford Small owes more than $350K in unpaid restaurant rent and taxes, lawsuits claim". CBC News. Retrieved May 29, 2026.
- ↑ "Two Smitty's Franchises Close Without Warning". VOCM. June 17, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ↑ "forty-fifth general election 2025".
- ↑ "Central Newfoundland". Elections Canada. Elections Canada. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ↑ "Confirmed candidates — Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
- ↑ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ↑ "Candidate Campaign Returns". Elections Canada. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
External links
[edit] | This article about a Newfoundland and Labrador Member of Parliament is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
- Conservative Party of Canada MPs
- Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador
- Living people
- Businesspeople from Newfoundland and Labrador
- Canadian fishermen
- Canadian restaurateurs
- 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada
- 1970 births
- Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
- Canadian MP stubs
- Newfoundland and Labrador politician stubs