Matt DeCourcey

Matt DeCourcey
DeCourcey in 2019
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
January 30, 2017 – May 3, 2019
MinisterChrystia Freeland
Preceded byPamela Goldsmith-Jones
Succeeded byRob Oliphant
Member of Parliament
for Fredericton
In office
October 19, 2015 – September 11, 2019
Preceded byKeith Ashfield
Succeeded byJenica Atwin
Personal details
Born (1983-04-04) April 4, 1983 (age 41)
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Political partyLiberal
Residence(s)Fredericton, New Brunswick
Alma materSt. Thomas University
Mount Saint Vincent University
Professioncommunity outreach specialist

Matthew DeCourcey (born April 4, 1983) is a Canadian Liberal politician, who represented the riding of Fredericton in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 until 2019.[1]

Family and education

Matthew Carey DeCourcey is the son of Harold DeCourcey a retired probation officer for the Province of New Brunswick and Dawn DeCourcey, a retired teacher in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

DeCourcey graduated from Fredericton High School in 2001. DeCourcey graduated from St. Thomas University in 2005. DeCourcey graduated from Mount St. Vincent University in 2007 with a Master's degree in public relations (MPR).

In 2019, he announced his engagement to Liberal member of Parliament Maryam Monsef.[2]

Career

DeCourcey first became involved in politics during his studies at St. Thomas University, volunteering for Paul Martin's successful federal Liberal leadership bid in 2003.[3] He worked for Fredericton MP Andy Scott from 2005 to 2006, and subsequently worked for Labrador MP Todd Russell.[4][3] He was a director on the board of the Fredericton YMCA and taught Child and Youth Rights at Saint Thomas University.[3]

He spent five months in The Gambia on an international development initiative, and on his return to Canada he became the director of communications for New Brunswick's Child and Youth Advocate.[4]

Politics

DeCourcey became the Liberal Party's candidate in Fredericton during the 2015 federal election, and won, ousting Conservative incumbent and former cabinet minister Keith Ashfield.

DeCourcey was appointed to the House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform, which was established due to the campaign promise made by the Liberal Party that 2015 would be the last Federal election decided under the first-past-the-post system. That committee travelled across Canada in 2016 to consult with Canadians as to their preference for electoral reform, and in doing so, heard widespread support for a switch from the first-past-the-post electoral system to proportional representation.[5] The Liberal government ultimately refused to table any legislation to enact electoral reform.

In spring 2018 DeCourcey was criticized for violating House of Commons rules by using his taxpayer-funded M.P. newsletter to recruit volunteers for the Liberal Party.[6]

He was defeated in the 2019 federal election by Jenica Atwin of the Green Party.

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Fredericton
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Green Jenica Atwin 16,640 33.68 +21.26 $55,541.51
Conservative Andrea Johnson 15,011 30.38 +1.96 $81,269.70
Liberal Matt DeCourcey 13,544 27.41 −21.85 $82,534.73
New Democratic Mackenzie Thomason 2,946 5.96 −3.93 $1,197.20
People's Jason Paull 776 1.57 New $1,322.69
Animal Protection Lesley Thomas 286 0.58 New $2,894.40
Libertarian Brandon Kirby 126 0.26 New $965.26
Communist Jacob Patterson 80 0.16 New $476.56
Total valid votes/expense limit 49,409 99.39   $101,795.92
Total rejected ballots 301 0.61 +0.20
Turnout 49,710 74.63 −1.10
Eligible voters 66,606
Green gain from Liberal Swing +9.65
Source: Elections Canada[7][8]
2015 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Matt DeCourcey 23,016 49.26 +25.24 –
Conservative Keith Ashfield 13,280 28.42 -18.55 –
Green Mary Lou Babineau 5,804 12.42 +8.27 –
New Democratic Sharon Scott-Levesque 4,622 9.89 -14.41 –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 46,722 100.0   $194,784.13[9]
Total rejected ballots 188 – –
Turnout 46,910 – –
Eligible voters 60,587
Source: Elections Canada[10][11][failed verification]

References

  1. ^ Matt DeCourcey wins Fredericton, CBC News, October 19, 2015.
  2. ^ "Liberal Minister Announces Engagement To Defeated MP". HuffPost Canada. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Alex Corbett, Matt DeCourcey, the picture of Liberal ambition Archived 2015-10-15 at the Wayback Machine, The New Brunswick Beacon, October 14, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Meet Matt DeCourcey, Liberal.ca.
  5. ^ Howe, P. (2018). A New Electoral System for New Brunswick. Journal of New Brunswick Studies, Issue 9, p. 5.
  6. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nb-conservative-mp-fredericton-liberal-newsletter-1.4664387 Jacques Poitras, CBC News New Brunswick, May 16, 2018
  7. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Final Election Expense Limits for Candidates: 43rd General Election - October 21, 2019". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  9. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Elections Canada – List of candidates Fredericton (New Brunswick), General Election (Monday, October 19, 2015)
  11. ^ "Résultats du soir d'élection - Circonscriptions".