Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador - The Party Under Roger Grimes (2001-2005)

The Party Under Roger Grimes (2001-2005)

Grimes was sworn in as the province's premier Feb. 13, 2001. During his government the name of the province was officially changed to Newfoundland and Labrador.

In 2003, the federal government declared a moratorium on the last remaining cod fishery in Atlantic Canada in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. While Newfoundland and Labrador was again the most directly affected province by this decision, communities on Quebec's North Shore and in other parts of Atlantic Canada also faced difficulties.

Grimes called for a review of the Act of Union by which the province had become a part of Canada and on July 2, 2003, the findings of the Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada (which Grimes had created in 2002) were released. Critics called this inquiry the "Blame Canada Commission".

Grimes often clashed with the federal Liberal government of Jean Chrétien and became increasingly critical of his predecessor, Brian Tobin. When Grimes accused the federal government of bias in the Gulf of St. Lawrence cod moratorium, many even in Newfoundland and Labrador saw him as stirring up unnecessary trouble for political gain. After the Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada, Grimes' popularity began to decline as his increasingly confrontational approach made it more difficult to win concessions from the federal government.