Michael Malley

Michael "Tanker" Malley (born July 8, 1962 in Chatham, New Brunswick) is a former politician in the Canadian Province of New Brunswick. He represented the riding of Miramichi-Bay du Vin in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2006 and served as Speaker of the Assembly for part of 2006.

Malley, a former Miramichi city councillor and bus driver, was first elected to the legislature in the 1999 election and was re-elected in 2003.

The 2003 election returned his Progressive Conservatives to a majority government of just a one-seat margin. Malley was named whip, a position of expanded importance in a legislature with such close numbers. He was widely called upon by leaders in his community to leave the government in 2004 if the Lord government did not back away from rumoured health care cuts in the region. In the end the cuts were not as severe as had been rumoured and Malley remained in caucus.

On February 17, 2006, shortly after a cabinet shuffle, Malley announced he would leave the Conservative caucus to sit as an independent. He expressed disappointment in the government's overall direction and in his not being included in cabinet despite being the only representative of Miramichi in the Conservative caucus [1] He argued that whereas Miramichi is the province's fourth largest city and where the three larger cities have significant representation (Moncton with 4, Saint John with 3 and Fredericton with 3), Miramichi ought to have had a member in the cabinet. His argument here was somewhat flawed, in that the cities proper have 2, 1 and 1 respectively, the numbers above include surrounding areas; the Miramichi area, if viewed through the same lens, has one cabinet member in Rogersville-Kouchibouguac MLA Rose-May Poirier.

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