Judy Foote

Foote was born on June 23, 1952 in Grand Bank, Newfoundland and Labrador. She was the head of Memorial University of Newfoundland's university relations division before she entered politics.

Foote served as the communications director for premier Clyde Wells before she ran for an elected position.

Foote represented the electoral district of Grand Bank in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 1996 to 2007 as a member of the Liberal Party.

She served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Development and Rural Renewal from 1996 to 1997, as Minister of Industry, Trade and Technology from 1997 to 1998, as Minister of Education from 1998 to 2000 and from 2001 to 2003. In February 2003, Foote became Newfoundland's Minister of Industry, Trade and Rural Development in a cabinet shuffle. Foote was narrowly reelected by 43 votes after a recount reduced her initial 50-vote lead in the Newfoundland and Labrador general election in October 2003.

In 2007, Foote stepped down from the House of Assembly after she won the Liberal party nomination for Random—Burin—St. George's against former Newfoundland cabinet minister Oliver Langdon and businessman Roger Jamieson to run in the 2008 Canadian federal election. Foote was then elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 2008, succeeding longtime Liberal MP Bill Matthews. In 2009, Foote, along with the other five Liberal MPs from Newfoundland, voted against the 2009 Canadian federal budget because it went against funding promises made to the province in the 1985 Atlantic Accord.

Foote became the Liberal Deputy House Leader in September 2010, but after she was reelected in the 2011 Canadian federal election, she accepted the position of Liberal Whip, which she held until the 2015 federal election.

Minister of Public Services and Procurement

Upon the Liberal victory in 2015, she joined the cabinet as Minister of Public Services and Procurement. She received the highest percentage of votes of any candidate nationwide in the 2015 election winning her seat with nearly 82% of all votes. In the House of Commons, Foote is seated next to Justin Trudeau.

In May 2016 Foote appeared alongside premier Dwight Ball to announce that $250 million will be loaned to the provincial government from the federal government to reduce controversial taxes proposed in the provincial budget and Foote also said that more federal help for the province is coming in the future.

In 2017, Foote announced she was taking a leave of absence from the federal cabinet for personal reasons which were later disclosed as being the occurrence of cancer in one of her children. She announced her resignation from Cabinet on August 24, 2017 and that she intends to resign as an MP in September.

In 2000, Foote was diagnosed with breast cancer while serving as a provincial MHA for the District of Grand Bank and underwent procedures and treatments. In June 2014, Foote announced that she is battling breast cancer for the second time.