Lela Evans

Lela Evans MHA
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for Torngat Mountains
Incumbent
Assumed office May 16, 2019
Preceded by	Randy Edmunds
Personal details
Born	Makkovik[1]
Political party	Progressive Conservative (2019–2021, 2024–present)
Other political affiliations	Independent (2021–2022) New Democratic (2022–2024)
Relations	Anthony Andersen (uncle) Wally Andersen (uncle) Randy Edmunds (cousin)
Alma mater	Memorial University of Newfoundland

Lela Margaret Ann Evans^[2] is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly in the 2019 provincial election.^[1] She represents the electoral district of Torngat Mountains as a Progressive Conservative. Having been elected as a PC MHA, she left the party in 2021 and joined the New Democratic Party in 2022. She returned to the PCs in 2024.^[3] She was first elected in the 2019 provincial election and was re-elected in 2021.^[4]

Evans has over 20 years experience in the environmental field, including environmental assessments, mining and construction.^[5]

Biography

Evans was born in Makkovik,^[6] a community in Nunatsiavut, Labrador and she is of Norwegian and Inuit descent.^[7] Evans is the daughter of Annie Evans and niece of feminist activist Ruth Flowers.^[8] In 2016, Evans joined protests against the Lower Churchill Project despite working for the company developing the project, Nalcor Energy.^[9] Evans has also worked as a first-aid instructor and at the Voisey's Bay Mine. Evans has also served as a part of a team conducting community consultations on the Uranium mining moratorium in northern Labrador. Evans is a graduate of the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Evans is openly lesbian.^[10][11]

Politics

In an interview with The Independent, Evans stated that she had to quit her job to run as a candidate in the 2019 election because her employer would not allow her to take a leave of absence. She was nominated as the Progressive Conservative candidate against her cousin and MHA Randy Edmunds. Evans went on to defeat Edmunds in an upset.^[12] She considered herself to be "putting the P in PC,"^[9] meaning that she considers herself to be progressive in her political beliefs.

Evans has called for the Trans-Labrador Highway to be extended to reach communities in the northern part of Labrador.^[13]

On October 25, 2021, Evans left the PC Party to sit as an Independent in the House of Assembly.^[14] On March 7, 2022, Evans joined the NDP.^[15][16] On July 16, 2024, she rejoined the PC Party, calling new PC leader Tony Wakeham an "ally" and a "friend."^[3]

Election results

Torngat Mountains – 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Lela Evans	420	88.79%
	New Democratic	Patricia Johnson-Castle	37	7.82%
	Liberal	Devon Ryan	16	3.38%
Total valid votes			473
Total rejected ballots
Turnout
Eligible voters

Torngat Mountains – 2019 Newfoundland and Labrador general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Lela Evans	623	56.58%
	Liberal	Randy Edmunds	478	43.42%
Total valid votes			1,101
Total rejected ballots
Turnout
Eligible voters

Canada – 2018 Nunatsiavut general election
[17]	Name	Vote	%
	Edward Blake-Rudkowski	477	38.07%
	Roland Saunders	258	20.59%
	Lela Evans	234	18.68%
	Charlotte Winters-Fost	194	15.48%
	Selina Adams	90	7.18%
Total Valid Ballots		1,253	100%

References

1. "Here are 3 of the 14 first-timers headed to the House of Assembly". CBC News. May 17, 2019. Retrieved Nov 4, 2020.
2. "Lela Evans | PC Party of NL". www.pcnl.ca. Retrieved 17 January 2021. Lela Margaret Ann Evans (B.Sc. Hons.) was born and raised in Makkovik, Labrador and was elected to the House of Assembly as the Member for Torngat Mountains on May 16, 2019.
3. "Labrador MHA Lela Evans leaving the NDP to return to PC caucus". Yahoo News. 2024-07-16. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
4. "Here are all the MHAs elected in the Newfoundland and Labrador election". CBC News. March 27, 2021.
5. "Crosbie Strikes Committee to Develop Climate Change Action Plan". pcnl.ca. Sep 25, 2019. Retrieved Nov 4, 2020.
6. Maher, David (Dec 15, 2019). "Torngat Mountains MHA Lela Evans answers 20 Questions". Saltwire Network. Retrieved Nov 5, 2020.
7. Kelland, Ariana (Jul 9, 2020). "Hateful words, diminished services: How racism rears its head for N.L.'s Indigenous people". CBC News. Retrieved Nov 5, 2020.
8. "My speech in the HOA yesterday ..." facebook.com. Sep 17, 2020. Retrieved Nov 5, 2020.
9. Rollmann, Hans (June 19, 2019). "Lela Evans: From Muskrat Falls Protests to MHA". The Independent. Retrieved Nov 5, 2020.
10. "YWCA St. John's on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30.^{[user-generated source]}
11. "Burned Pride flags in Metro area". Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. June 15, 2021. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
12. "Cabinet ministers Letto and Hawkins among 9 defeated Liberals". CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador, May 17, 2019.
13. "Torngat MHA Calls for New Road to Open Path to North Coast of Labrador". VOCM News. Sep 23, 2020. Retrieved Nov 5, 2020.
14. Staff, CBC News (25 October 2021). "Lela Evans, MHA for Labrador's Torngat Mountains district, leaving PC Party". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
15. Smith, Greg. "Former PC MHA Joins NDP". VOCM. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
16. "Former PC MHA Lela Evans joins NDP caucus". CBC News. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
17. "General Election for Ordinary Members to the Nunatsiavut Assembly". Nunatsiavut Government. May 1, 2018. Retrieved Nov 5, 2020.^{[permanent dead link‍]}