Kathy Dunderdale, the minister for Newfoundland and Labrador’s Forestry and Agrifoods Agency, is the province’s new deputy premier.
Dunderdale, who’s also the minister responsible for natural resources, was named to the deputy’s post Friday in a cabinet shuffle by Premier Danny Williams. She has also been appointed as minister for the status of women.
As deputy premier, Dunderdale replaces Tom Rideout, who quit cabinet in May and resigned from the province’s House of Assembly on June 30. Rideout, a former premier, told reporters at the time that he was quitting over a dispute with Williams regarding road upgrades in Rideout’s constituency.
Dunderdale has been the MHA for the St. John’s riding of Virginia Waters since 2003 and is a former president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Municipalities. Her previous cabinet portfolios have included responsibility for rural development and the Rural Secretariat.
Dunderdale is currently one of just two provincial deputy premiers responsible for the agriculture portfolio, along with Manitoba’s Rosann Wowchuk.
