Claude Williams Bios - 57th Legislature

Claude Williams (Kent South) was born on November 25, 1955, in Saint-Antoine, Kent County. He is the son of Rita and Irené Williams.

In his first venture into provincial politics, he won the April 23, 2001, by-election in the constituency of Kent South. A member of the Progressive Conservative Party, he joined the 46-member caucus of Premier Bernard Lord. He was a member of the 54th Legislature's Standing Committee on Private Bills. He chaired the Select Committee on Local Governance and Regional Collaboration.

He was re-elected as a member of the 55th Legislature in the June 9, 2003, provincial election. He was a member of the following standing committees: privileges, public accounts, private bills, legislative administration and ombudsman. He chaired the Select Committee on Health Care, and he was a member of the Select Committee on Wood Supply and the Select Committee on Public Automobile Insurance.

On February 14, 2006, he was sworn in as a member of the Executive Council and appointed Minister of Education.

He was re-elected in the September 18, 2006, provincial election. He was official Opposition critic for areas of interest related to fisheries, official languages, la Francophonie and transportation. He was a member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and he served on the Select Committee on Tax Review.

He was re-elected to the 57th Legislature in the provincial election held September 27, 2010 and appointed Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure on October 12, 2010.

He was vice-president of the New Brunswick section of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie.

Mr. Williams completed his elementary school studies locally and graduated from high school in Bouctouche. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Université de Moncton. He was executive assistant to then-minister Omer Léger before becoming regional manager for the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

He is well-known in his community where he was chairman and a member of District 12 school board from 1981 to 1989 and chairman of the Kent South chapter of the Canadian disabled association. He was a member of the board of directors of the Caisse populaire de Saint-Antoine and vice-president of the Grand Saint-Antoine local service district. He has also been a member of parents' committees at Camille-Vautour School in Saint-Antoine and Clément-Cormier High School in Bouctouche. He was elected as a municipal councillor in Saint-Antoine in the 1980s.

Mr. Williams and his wife, Bernice LeBlanc, have two daughters, Vicky and Monica.

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