Andrew Furey steps down as premier of N.L. after 4-½ years in office

Andrew Furey has stepped down as the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, in a surprise news conference called on Tuesday afternoon in St. John's.

"It has been a wild and unexpected journey, right from the start to bring us here to today," he said. "To the finish. It is with a heart full of pride and hard-earned confidence in the future of Newfoundland and Labrador, that I must now move on."

Furey — a surgeon with longtime family connections to the provincial and federal Liberals— became premier of Newfoundland and Labrador in August 2020, after winning the Liberal leadership following the resignation of former Premier Dwight Ball.

He said at the time that he had no intention of being a career politician, something he called back to during his speech on Tuesday.

"I had a list of what I wanted to accomplish, of goals that as a proud Newfoundlander and Labradorian I know that I shared with all of you."

The province was due for an election by October. Furey said after speaking with his family, he couldn't commit to another full term, so he opted to step aside early to allow the party to select a new leader.

"Now the time has come for me to return to my family and to the job that I loved in the operating room where I will continue to serve the people of this province in a different way," Furey said.

He ascended to the role in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming a staple in people's homes during daily briefings.

Furey won Ball's former seat in October of that year, cruising to victory in a byelection for the district of Humber-Gros Morne.

He led the Liberals to victory in a rocky pandemic election in early 2021, with voting delayed by a surge of COVID-19 cases a week before voters headed to the polls. By the time ballots were counted, Furey's Liberals had won a majority, taking 22 of the legislature's 40 seats.

He's leaving the position after achieving one of his primary goals — negotiating a new agreement with Quebec over hydroelectricity flowing from Churchill Falls. The memorandum of understanding would see the controversial 1969 contract torn up and replaced 16 years early. Furey and Quebec Premier François Legault say the new agreement would provide $200 billion in value to each province over its lifetime.

Furey referred to the accomplishment on Tuesday as "history made and past wrongs rewritten," and called it a "rock solid foundation for our province moving forward."

He also made reference to "blind sides" — such as the adversity of the pandemic, the financial woes of the Muskrat Falls project, and the potential trade war with the U.S.