Todd Russell
{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Todd Norman Russell
| image = Todd Russell.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth date and age |1966|12|22}}
| birth_place = St. Anthony, Newfoundland{{Cite web|url=http://www.thetelegram.com/Living/2015-12-01/article-4360866/20-Questions-with-Todd-Russell/1|title=SaltWire | Newfoundland & Labrador}}
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence =
| riding = Labrador
| term_start = May 24, 2005
| term_end = May 30, 2011
| predecessor = Lawrence D. O'Brien
| successor = Peter Penashue
| profession = Metis affairs leader
| party = Liberal Party of Canada
| footnotes =
| term_start2 =
| term_end2 =
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 =
}}
Todd Norman Dwayne Russell (born December 22, 1966) is a Canadian politician and was the Liberal member of Parliament for the riding of Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador from 2005 to 2011.
Early life
Russell was born in St. Anthony, Newfoundland and raised in William's Harbour. He is Métis descent{{cite web|url=https://archives.anglican.ca/link/article41060 |title=Russell: true son of the land|last1=Swift|first1=Diana|date=March 2014|publisher=Anglican Church of Canada|access-date=June 25, 2024}} and was the president of NunatuKavut, an unrecognised Indigenous group,{{cite news |title=NunatuKavut Inuit identity dispute has long history |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/nunatukavut-inuit-identity-dispute-has-long-history-1.6369649 |access-date=June 25, 2024 |work=CBC News |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date=March 2, 2022}} until his by-election win. He was educated at Memorial University in St. John's.
Federal politics
On May 24, 2005, Russell won a by-election in the riding of Labrador, vacated by the death of Liberal MP Lawrence D. O'Brien.{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/liberals-win-crucial-byelection-1.540341|title=Liberals win crucial byelection|publisher=CBC News|date=24 May 2005|accessdate=1 November 2015}} His victory consolidated the standing of the federal Liberals in the minority parliament, which made it easier for the Liberals to pass budget legislation. He was re-elected in the 2006 and 2008 federal elections and served as the Critic for Aboriginal Affairs in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet.
In the 2011 election, Russell was defeated by Conservative Peter Penashue.{{cite news|title=Penashue margin of victory reduced
|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/penashue-margin-of-victory-reduced-1.1016634|accessdate=25 May 2018|newspaper=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=9 May 2011}}{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/innu-leader-delivers-conservatives-from-n-l-shutout-1.976524|title=Innu leader delivers Conservatives from N.L. shutout|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=2011-05-02|access-date=2018-05-25}}
= After federal politics =
== Lower Churchill Project ==
Following his electoral defeat Russell returned to the position of NunatuKavut president and has been vocal in his opposition to the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.{{cite news|title=NunatuKavut protesting against Muskrat Falls project|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/nunatukavut-protesting-against-muskrat-falls-project-1.1197594|accessdate=25 May 2018|newspaper=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=27 September 2012}}
== Other activities ==
In 2016, Russell called on the federal government to apologize for the treatment of residential school survivors from Newfoundland and Labrador.{{cite web|url=http://www.thelabradorian.ca/news/local/2016/5/11/ncc-calls-on-pm-to-apologize-following-residential-school-settle.html|title=NCC calls on PM to apologize following residential school settlement|website=thelabradorian.ca}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=2200}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Todd}}
Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador
Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Category:Canadian people who self-identify as being of Indigenous descent
Category:Memorial University of Newfoundland alumni
Category:21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada