St. John's South—Mount Pearl

St. John's South—Mount Pearl covers the southern and western portions of the St. John's metropolitan area, taking in the south end of St. John's, the city of Mount Pearl, the fast-growing town of Paradise, and the fishing village of Petty Harbour—Maddox Cove. The riding is predominantly suburban and residential, with Mount Pearl and Paradise serving as bedroom communities for the broader St. John's employment base. It is the more suburban of the two St. John's ridings, with newer housing developments and a younger demographic profile than St. John's East.

Candidates

Ryan Cleary (NDP) — Cleary was one of Newfoundland and Labrador's best-known journalists before entering politics. A graduate of the journalism program at the College of the North Atlantic's Stephenville campus, he worked as a fisheries reporter for The Telegram during the 1992 cod moratorium, covered stories for NTV and The Newfoundland Herald, and served as managing editor of The Independent, a weekly newspaper. Under his editorship, The Independent was a finalist for a Michener Award for public service journalism. Cleary had publicly affiliated with the NDP in the past but stepped back from the party to maintain journalistic independence before committing to run in 2011.

Siobhan Coady (Liberal) — Coady was the incumbent MP, first elected in 2008 after unsuccessful campaigns in 2004 and 2006. She held a Bachelor of Education from Memorial University and had built a career in the private sector before entering politics, serving as president and CEO of Newfound Genomics, a biotechnology firm, and heading The Clinical Trials Centre, a medical research company, as well as Bonaventure Fisheries. She was considered a rising figure within the national Liberal caucus heading into 2011.

Loyola Sullivan (Conservative) — Sullivan was a veteran politician from the Southern Shore community of Calvert. The son of a fisherman and one of twelve children, he earned Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Education degrees from Memorial University and worked as a high school teacher before entering provincial politics in a 1992 by-election. He served as interim leader of the provincial Progressive Conservatives and Leader of the Official Opposition from 1996 to 1998. When Danny Williams's PCs came to power in 2003, Sullivan was appointed Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board, playing a central role in negotiating the 2005 Atlantic Accord that secured roughly $2 billion for the province. He retired from provincial politics in December 2006 and was appointed Canada's Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation in January 2007, a post he resigned in March 2011 to seek the federal Conservative nomination.

Rick Austin (Green Party) also contested the riding.

About the Riding

Mount Pearl, with a population of roughly 24,284 in 2011, is a self-contained city with its own municipal government, commercial districts, and recreation facilities, though it functions economically as part of the greater St. John's area. The city's Donovan's Industrial Park is a significant commercial hub. Paradise, the riding's other major community, was one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador, with a population of roughly 17,700 in 2011, driven by new residential construction attracting young families.

The riding's economy was closely tied to the St. John's metropolitan labour market. Many residents commuted to jobs in downtown St. John's, at Memorial University, at the Health Sciences Centre, or in the oil and gas sector's onshore offices and supply operations. The offshore oil industry was the dominant economic force in the region by 2011, with the Hibernia, Terra Nova, and White Rose projects generating billions in economic activity and supporting thousands of direct and indirect jobs across the metro area. Retail and service-sector employment in Mount Pearl's commercial areas and along the Topsail Road corridor also sustained the local economy. Petty Harbour—Maddox Cove, a small fishing community on the coast south of St. John's, maintained a connection to the traditional inshore fishery, and its picturesque harbour made it a popular day-trip destination for tourists.