PEIGail Shea, who spent seven years as the Conservative MP for the Prince Edward Island riding of Egmont during the Stephen Harper years, has died at the age of 66.MP from Egmont was proud of what Harper government delivered for Atlantic Canada Carolyn Ryan · CBC News · Posted: Aug 21, 2025 3:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 29 minutes agoA political powerhouse from a fishing family in western P.E.I., Gail Shea has died at age 66Gail Shea began her political journey back in 1996, determined to represent the people and issues in her community, and make changes she said were desperately needed. As CBC’s Sheehan Desjardins reports, that journey took her to Parliament Hill and eventually the federal cabinet table. Gail Shea, who spent seven years as the Conservative MP for the Prince Edward Island riding of Egmont during the Stephen Harper years, has died at the age of 66.The P.E.I. Premier’s Office confirmed the news Thursday afternoon in a statement that did not include details of when and where Shea had died.”Gail was a mainstay in the Progressive Conservative Party — a loyal, respected, and trusted voice who gave so much of herself to our province and to the people she served,” the statement quoted Premier Rob Lantz as saying. “She was a trailblazer, holding senior roles in both provincial and federal cabinets. “She was proud of her roots in western P.E.I. and never lost touch with the people and values that shaped her. Her dedication, humility, and quiet strength earned the respect of Islanders from all walks of life.”Shea was a member of Parliament for two terms lasting a total of seven years, from 2008 to 2015. When the voters of Egmont chose her as their representative, she became the riding’s first non‐Liberal MP in 28 years. She would go on to make history as the first P.E.I. woman ever named to the federal cabinet.Gail Shea spent seven years in provincial politics before running federally in 2008. ‘She was proud of her roots in western P.E.I. and never lost touch with the people and values that shaped her,’ Premier Rob Lantz said of Shea as his office announced her death on Thursday. (CBC)She served as minister in several portfolios while Harper was prime minister, including National Revenue and Fisheries and Oceans. She was also the cabinet minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency for a time. “As far as I’m concerned, we have delivered a lot for Prince Edward Island and Atlantic Canada,” she said after losing her MP’s seat in the 2015 federal election. “The actual changes to EI that we made will actually put a million dollars more in recipients’ pockets here on Prince Edward Island.”Prime Minister Stephen Harper, centre, is shown with Fisheries Minister Gail Shea at right and Miramichi MP Tilly O’Neill Gordon at left as they walk on a boardwalk in Miramichi, N.B., in August 2013. (The Canadian Press)Shea said a campaign of misinformation about the Conservative government’s actions was at least partially responsible for her defeat.”It wasn’t a huge surprise,” Shea said. “There was a strong anti-Harper movement out there.”Current Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre posted social media messages on Thursday afternoon calling Shea a “dear friend” and sending his condolences to her family. “Gail was a larger than life figure in our Conservative movement,” the post read in part. “She was full of energy, warmth, good humour and was the epitome of Maritime hospitality. Whether she was serving her constituents, fighting for our fisheries, or just sharing a laugh, Gail’s spirit lifted everyone around her.”Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, shown posing with Shea, called her a ‘dear friend’ in a social media post Thursday afternoon. (Pierre Poilievre/Facebook)Poilievre added: “I will miss her deeply, but her generosity of spirit and dedication to others will live on in the many lives she touched.”Liberal Bobby Morrissey, who remains Egmont’s MP 10 years after defeating Shea, was also among the first to pay tribute to her.”She never forgot where she came from, regardless of the office she held over the years,” he said, noting that they grew up in the same area and had known each other long before their politics took different paths.Gail Shea smiles during a 2013 swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. She was 54 at the time. (The Canadian Press)Before moving to federal politics, Shea spent seven years as the Progressive Conservative MLA for District 27, Tignish-DeBlois. She was the province’s first female transportation minister, which was among several portfolios she held under then-premier Pat Binns.Wouldn’t let a pie stop herShea told CBC News in a 2016 interview that one of the low points in her career was having an American seal hunt protester shove a pie into her face while she was attending a rally as fisheries minister. The pie aimed at Shea was apparently made of tofu, though she told the Hamilton Spectator that it “tasted like shaving cream.”Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea is shown in February 2011, saying the government had launched a formal challenge to Europe’s ban on Canadian seal products with the World Trade Organization. (The Canadian Press)At the time, Shea told her flustered staff that she was going back out to resume her appearance at the event in Burlington, Ont.”And they said, ‘You’re not!’ And I said, ‘Yes, I am. If there’s one thing that will tick them off, I want to do it … They’re not going to interfere with the government of Canada.'”Born in Skinners PondAnn Marie Gail Doucette was born on April 6, 1959, the daughter of Roy Ernest Doucette and Elva Mary Perry.She had just turned 17 when she married Russell Shea. They would go on to have five children. Shea trained as a bookkeeper and managed a family business for 15 years, as well as working for a time for the Canada Revenue Agency, at the Summerside Tax Centre. WATCH | Stompin’ Tom Connors memorial:From the CBC P.E.I. vault: Former Compass host Bruce Rainnie interviews Gail Shea in 2016Former CBC News: Compass host Bruce Rainnie interviews Gail Shea in Charlottetown in April 2016, six months after she had left politics behind following her defeat in the October 2015 federal election. She shared the hometown of tiny Skinners Pond with songwriting legend Stompin’ Tom Connors, who was born in New Brunswick but considered P.E.I. his native soil. “Canada has lost a friend,” Shea told a memorial service after Connors died in 2013. After losing the 2015 election, Shea said she had no desire to ever try for a political comeback, though she acknowledged people were asking her to run for the provincial Progressive Conservative leadership. “It’s nice to be able to respond to and to pick up grandkids at school if the parents can’t, so just to be there to do that is great,” Shea told CBC’s Matt Rainnie six months after that election.”Once you are no longer busy, you realize just how busy you were and how the job really took every moment of every day.”ABOUT THE AUTHORCarolyn Ryan is the copy editor for CBC P.E.I.’s digital news operation. A graduate of the University of Prince Edward Island and the Carleton University School of Journalism, she has spent decades writing, editing and assigning other staff as a print, radio and digital journalist.
‘Trailblazer’ Gail Shea, former federal fisheries minister and MP from P.E.I., dies at 66
