ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A member of Newfoundland and Labrador’s government has quit the Progressive Conservative Party to sit as an Independent, saying he can’t support Premier Kathy Dunderdale.
Tom Osborne says he has not supported Dunderdale’s leadership in the last couple of years and has chafed under the government’s centralized control.
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Osborne says he voted for contentious changes to the province’s access-to-information law earlier this year even though he did not agree with them.
He says he’ll consult with his constituents about his political future and may join either the Liberals or New Democrats.
The member for St. John’s South was a senior cabinet minister holding the justice and health files for former premier Danny Williams.
Osborne’s defection means there are now 36 Tories in the provincial legislature compared to six Liberals and five New Democrats.
He was first elected in 1996.
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