Politics
Harris first became a member of the Canadian House of Commons after winning a by-election in the riding of St. John's East on July 20, 1987. Harris was the second NDP candidate ever elected to the House of Commons in Newfoundland and Labrador. He was subsequently defeated in the 1988 federal election.
Harris was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly in a 1990 by-election and became leader of the provincial New Democrats in 1992. He was re-elected to the Legislature in the 1993, 1996, 1999 and 2003 elections. He retired from provincial politics in 2006 and was succeeded by Lorraine Michael as leader of the party as well as the Member of the House of Assembly for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi. At the time of his departure, his former law partner Danny Williams was Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.
In the 2008 federal election Harris was again elected as the Member of Parliament for the riding of St. John's East. He received 74.1% of the vote, which was the fifth highest winning percentage in the election. Following the election Harris was appointed as the party's Critic for National Defence, and on several occasions has been named one of "The Backbench Top Ten", for his performance in the House of Commons, by Maclean's Magazine.
Read more about this topic: Jack Harris (politician)
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