Trevor Holder

MLA for Portland-Simonds

Trevor A. Holder was born in Saint John on May 8, 1973, the son of Dorothy (Trevors) and the late William Holder.

He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the June 7, 1999, provincial election as the member representing the electoral district of Saint John Portland.

He has been re-elected five times since then, including his most recent re-election to the 59thLegislature on September 24, 2018 as the MLA for the riding of Portland-Simonds. On November 9, 2018, he was sworn in as a member of the Executive Council and appointed as Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour.

During his time as an MLA, Mr. Holder has held many portfolios, including Minister of Environment and Local Government, Minister of Tourism and Parks, Minister of Wellness, Culture and Sport, and Minister of Tourism, Heritage and Culture.

He has also served on numerous legislative committees, including the Standing Committees on Crown Corporations, Legislative Administration, Private Bills, Procedure, the Ombudsman, Education, Health Care, Estimates, Private Bills, and Privileges. He was also a member of the Select Committee to Review Appointments by the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council and the Select Committee on Private Passenger Automobile Insurance, and has served as Deputy Speaker and Official Opposition Deputy House Leader. From 2014 to 2018 he served as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee. 

Mr. Holder has also been the Official Opposition critic for areas of interest related to the environment, social development, post-secondary education, training and labour, poverty reduction, the Labour and Employment Board, and WorkSafeNB. 

Mr. Holder attended Saint John High School, graduating in 1991. He continued his education at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in political science and history in 1995. While at UNBSJ, he was elected President of the Student Representative Council and elected to the UNBSJ Senate. He also served as Vice-President of the Social Sciences Association of UNBSJ and as President of the UNBSJ Progressive Conservative Youth Association.

From 1996 until his election in 1999, he was employed as a financial planner in Saint John. He served previously as an executive member of the Council of State Governments – Eastern Regional Conference, and was a member of the Maine-New Brunswick Trade Corridor Committee. He remains involved in issues relating to Canada-United States relations.

His political experience includes serving on the executive of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick as Saint John County Vice-President and on the Saint John Portland Progressive Conservative Association as Second Vice-President.

Active in the community, he is a member and past president of the United Empire Loyalist Association, the Carleton Union Lodge and the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #64. He is an active member of St. Lukes Anglican Church, Parish of Portland. In 1987, he received the Chief Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of Canada.

Mr. Holder and his wife, Brenda, and daughters Margaret and Katherine live in Saint John.

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