Claude
Williams

Claude Williams was born on November 25, 1955, in Saint-Antoine, Kent County. He is the son of Rita and Irené Williams.

In his first venture into provincial politics, he won the April 23, 2001, by-election in the constituency of Kent South. A member of the Progressive Conservative Party, he joined the 46-member caucus of Premier Bernard Lord. He was a member of the 54th Legislature's Standing Committee on Private Bills. He chaired the Select Committee on Local Governance and Regional Collaboration.

He was re-elected as a member of the 55th Legislature in the June 9, 2003, provincial election. He was a member of the following standing committees: privileges, public accounts, private bills, legislative administration and ombudsman. He chaired the Select Committee on Health Care, and he was a member of the Select Committee on Wood Supply and the Select Committee on Public Automobile Insurance.

On February 14, 2006, he was sworn in as a member of the Executive Council and appointed Minister of Education.

He was re-elected in the September 18, 2006, provincial election. He was official Opposition critic for areas of interest related to fisheries, official languages, la Francophonie and transportation. He was a member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and he served on the Select Committee on Tax Review.

He was re-elected to the 57th Legislature in the provincial election held September 27, 2010 and appointed Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure (responsible for Transportation, Supply and Services and the New Brunswick Internal Services Agency) on October 12, 2010.

He was vice-president of the New Brunswick section of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie.

Mr. Williams completed his elementary school studies locally and graduated from high school in Bouctouche. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Université de Moncton. He was executive assistant to then-minister Omer Léger before becoming regional manager for the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

He is well-known in his community where he was chairman and a member of District 12 school board from 1981 to 1989 and chairman of the Kent South chapter of the Canadian disabled association. He was a member of the board of directors of the Caisse populaire de Saint-Antoine and vice-president of the Grand Saint-Antoine local service district. He has also been a member of parents' committees at Camille-Vautour School in Saint-Antoine and Clément-Cormier High School in Bouctouche. He was elected as a municipal councillor in Saint-Antoine in the 1980s.

Mr. Williams and his wife, Bernice LeBlanc, have two daughters, Vicky and Monica.