Biography:Lela Evans

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Short description: Canadian politician

The Honorable

Lela Evans

ECNL MHA
Evans in 2023
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
for Torngat Mountains
Assumed office
May 16, 2019
Preceded byRandy Edmunds
Minister of Health and Community Services
In office
October 29, 2025 – August 20, 2026
Preceded byKrista Lynn Howell
Succeeded byJoedy Wall
Minister of Labrador Affairs
Assumed office
October 29, 2025
Preceded byLisa Dempster
Minister of Indigenous Relations & Reconciliation
Assumed office
October 29, 2025
Preceded byScott Reid
Minister of Women and Gender Equality
Assumed office
February 24, 2026
Preceded byHelen Conway-Ottenheimer
Personal details
BornMakkovik[1]
Political partyProgressive Conservative (2019–2021, 2024–present)
RelationsAnthony Andersen (uncle)
Wally Andersen (uncle)
Randy Edmunds (cousin)
EducationMemorial 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 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]

Evans was re-elected as a Progressive Conservative in the 2025 Newfoundland and Labrador general election.[17]

On October 29, 2025 Evans was appointed to the Wakeham ministry Minister of Health and Community services, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Minister Responsible for NL Health Services. Minister of Labrador Affairs, and Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation.[18]

On September 17, 2026, Evans voted to approve the Churchill Falls Definitive Cooperation and Implementation Agreement (DCIA) in the House of Assembly along with the PC caucus.[19][20][21][22]

Cancer diagnosis

During the 2026 budget speech, Evans was absent from legislature for the first half of the speech, as it coincided with a biopsy.[23] On June 3, it was announced to the public that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.[24] Evans later announced that she had recovered from the cancer without requiring surgery.

Election results

Template:2025 Newfoundland and Labrador general election/Torngat Mountains

Template:CANelecTemplate:CANelecTemplate:CANelecTemplate:CANelec/totalTemplate:CANelec/totalTemplate:CANelec/totalTemplate:CANelec/total
Torngat Mountains – 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Template:CANelecTemplate:CANelecTemplate:CANelec/totalTemplate:CANelec/totalTemplate:CANelec/totalTemplate:CANelec/total
Torngat Mountains – 2019 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Canada – 2018 Nunatsiavut general election
[25] Name Vote %
style="background:#Template:Canadian party colour/colour; width: 16px"|  Edward Blake-Rudkowski 477 38.07%
style="background:#Template:Canadian party colour/colour; width: 16px"|  Roland Saunders 258 20.59%
style="background:#Template:Canadian party colour/colour; width: 16px"|  Lela Evans 234 18.68%
style="background:#Template:Canadian party colour/colour; width: 16px"|  Charlotte Winters-Fost 194 15.48%
style="background:#Template:Canadian party colour/colour; width: 16px"|  Selina Adams 90 7.18%
Total Valid Ballots 1,253 100%

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Here are 3 of the 14 first-timers headed to the House of Assembly". CBC News. May 17, 2019. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/fresh-faces-2019-nl-election-1.5139879. Retrieved Nov 4, 2020. 
  2. ↑ "Lela Evans | PC Party of NL". https://www.pcnl.ca/MHALelaEvans. "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. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Labrador MHA Lela Evans leaving the NDP to return to PC caucus" (in en-GB). 2024-07-16. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/labrador-mha-lela-evans-leaving-142331305.html. 
  4. ↑ "Here are all the MHAs elected in the Newfoundland and Labrador election". CBC News. March 27, 2021. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/nl-election-list-of-winners-1.5965873. 
  5. ↑ "Crosbie Strikes Committee to Develop Climate Change Action Plan". Sep 25, 2019. https://www.pcnl.ca/node/690. Retrieved Nov 4, 2020. 
  6. ↑ Maher, David (Dec 15, 2019). "Torngat Mountains MHA Lela Evans answers 20 Questions". Saltwire Network. https://www.saltwire.com/lifestyles/regional-lifestyles/torngat-mountains-mha-lela-evans-answers-20-questions-388480/?location=pictou-county. 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. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/racism-indigenous-hill-evans-penashue-jeddore-1.5638885. Retrieved Nov 5, 2020. 
  8. ↑ "My speech in the HOA yesterday ...". Sep 17, 2020. https://www.facebook.com/LelaEvansNL/posts/2817227395173590. Retrieved Nov 5, 2020. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Rollmann, Hans (June 19, 2019). "Lela Evans: From Muskrat Falls Protests to MHA". The Independent. https://theindependent.ca/2019/06/19/lela-evans-from-muskrat-falls-protests-to-mha/. Retrieved Nov 5, 2020. 
  10. ↑ "YWCA St. John's on Facebook". https://www.facebook.com/YWCAStJohns/posts/1622072574630492.  [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. https://web.archive.org/web/20211202002806/https://www.pcnl.ca/node/1134. 
  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. https://vocm.com/2020/09/23/lela-evans-trans-labrador-highway/. 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). https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/lela-evans-leaving-pc-party-1.6223802. 
  15. ↑ Smith, Greg. "Former PC MHA Joins NDP" (in en). VOCM. https://vocm.com/2022/03/07/lela-ndp/. 
  16. ↑ "Former PC MHA Lela Evans joins NDP caucus". CBC News. 7 March 2022. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/lela-evans-ndp-nl-1.6375691. 
  17. ↑ "Newfoundland and Labrador 2025 live results" (in en). https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/newfoundland-labrador/2025/results. 
  18. ↑ "Premier Wakeham Announces New Cabinet". Government of Newfoundland & Labrador. 29 October 2025. https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2025/exec/1029n01/. 
  19. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Ashley; Cole, Abby (2026-09-17). "House of Assembly votes in favour of moving forward with Churchill River power agreement". CBC News (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/churchill-falls-debate-vote-9.7347352. 
  20. ↑ "Churchill Falls Deal Passes Vote in House of Assembly". VOCM News (VOCM). 2026-09-17. https://vocm.com/2026/09/17/churchill-falls-deal-passes-vote-in-house-of-assembly/. 
  21. ↑ "After Initial Passing in Legislature, Focus Now Shifts to Negotiating Definitive Churchill Falls Agreements". VOCM News (VOCM). 2026-09-18. https://vocm.com/2026/09/18/after-initial-passing-in-legislature-focus-now-shifts-to-negotiating-definitive-churchill-falls-agreements/. 
  22. ↑ "Innu Nation Had Called on Government to Vote Against Hydro Deal; Province to Focus on Reconciling". VOCM News (VOCM). 2026-09-18. https://vocm.com/2026/09/18/310730/. 
  23. ↑ "Health Minister Reveals Own Struggles in Response to Absence from Budget Day Speech". Stingray Radio. 2026-05-01. https://vocm.com/2026/05/01/298007/. 
  24. ↑ Kennedy, Alex (2026-06-03). "'I wasn't going to let cancer stop me': N.L. Health Minister Lela Evans shares breast cancer diagnosis". https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/lela-evans-breast-cancer-9.7222411. 
  25. ↑ "General Election for Ordinary Members to the Nunatsiavut Assembly". Nunatsiavut Government. May 1, 2018. https://www.nunatsiavut.com/article/2018-general-election-for-ordinary-members-to-the-nunatsiavut-assembly/2018. Retrieved Nov 5, 2020. 

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