Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly

{{short description|Legislature of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada}}

{{Infobox Parliament

| name = Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly

| coa_pic = Coat of Arms of Newfoundland and Labrador.svg

| session_room = Confederation Building (front), St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.jpg

| house_type = Lower house (1832–1934) then unicameral house

| body = General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador

| foundation = {{Start date and age|1832}}

| legislature = 50th General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador

| leader1_type = Speaker

| leader1 = Derek Bennett

| party1 = Liberal

| election1 = 12 April 12 2021

| leader2_type = Premier

| leader2 = John Hogan

| party2 = Liberal

| election2 = 9 May 2025

| leader3_type = Leader of the Opposition

| leader3 = Tony Wakeham

| party3 = Progressive Conservative

| election3 = 14 October 2023

| leader4 = Steve Crocker

| party4 = Liberal

| election4 = 19 August 2020

| leader5_type = Opposition House Leader

| leader5 = Barry Petten|leader4_type=Government House Leader

| party5 = Progressive Conservative

| election5 = 12 April 2021

| members = 40

| structure1 = Newfoundland_and_Labrador_House_of_Assembly_-_Seating_Chart_by_Party.svg

| structure1_res = 300px

| political_groups1 =

Government

{{legend|#EC6A6C|Liberal (21)}}

Official Opposition

{{legend|#6495ED|Progressive Conservative (14)}}

Others

{{legend|#F5A46B|New Democratic (2)}}
{{legend|#DDDDDD|Independent (2)}}
{{legend|#FFFFFF|Vacant (1)}}

| election6 = May 16, 2019

| last_election1 = March 25, 2021

| next_election1 = On or before November 24, 2025

| meeting_place = Colonial Building (1850–1959)
Confederation Building (1959–present)

| website = {{URL|http://www.assembly.nl.ca/}}

}}

The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly ({{langx|fr|Chambre d'assemblée de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador}}) is the unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.{{Cite web|last=Maher|first=David|title=You could say the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is in its 'infant' stage {{!}} The Chronicle Herald|url=http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/canada/you-could-say-the-newfoundland-and-labrador-house-of-assembly-is-in-its-infant-stage-511131/|access-date=2020-12-17|website=www.thechronicleherald.ca|language=en}} It meets in the Confederation Building in St. John's. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, in the name of the King of Canada.{{Cite canlaw

|short title = Newfoundland Act

|abbr = 12-13 Geo. VI

|year = [1949]

|chapter = 22 (U.K.)

|section =

|subsection =

|part =

|division =

|schedule = 1 (Terms of Union) s. 14

|link = http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/constitution/lawreg-loireg/p1t212.html

|linkloc = Department of Justice Canada

|wikilink =

|type =

|amended1 =

|amended2 =

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|regnumber =

}}

The governing party sits on the left side of the speaker of the House of Assembly as opposed to the traditional right side of the speaker. This tradition dates back to the 1850s as the heaters in the Colonial Building were located on the left side. Thus, the government chose to sit near the heat, and leave the opposition sitting in the cold.{{Cite book |last=O'Neill |first=Paul |title=The Oldest City: The Story of St. John's, Newfoundland |publisher=Boulder Publications |year=2003 |isbn=9781459301238 |location=St. Philip's, NL |pages=336}}

Homes of Legislature

Before 1850 the legislature has sat at various locations including Mary Travers' tavern on Duckworth Street across from War Memorial 1832, St. John's Court House (at Duckworth and Church Hill) from 1833 to 1846, a building on southwest corner of Water Street and Prescott Street (since replaced with office building) and the site of the former St. Patrick’s Hall on Queen’s Road and Garrison Hill (demolished and replace by current building 1880{{cite web |url=https://bisnl.ca/history/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811072930/https://bisnl.ca/history/ |archive-date=August 11, 2020 |title=History – Benevolent Irish Society}}).

Permanent homes of the legislature, Confederation Building and Colonial Building, are the only surviving structures.{{Cite web|url=https://nlarchaeology.wordpress.com/2013/10/|title = October 2013}}{{Cite web |url=http://dcnonl.com/article/id37153 |title=Newfoundland's historic Colonial Building to undergo restoration – Daily Commercial News |access-date=2013-12-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215055033/http://dcnonl.com/article/id37153 |archive-date=2013-12-15 |url-status=dead }}

Constituencies

{{Main|List of Newfoundland and Labrador provincial electoral districts}}

Members represent one electoral district each. There are 40 seats in the House of Assembly.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/provincial-election-candidates-1.3343999 "Full list of winners in Newfoundland and Labrador election"]. CBC News, November 30, 2015.