{{Short description|Canadian politician (1943–2026)}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = File:Len Simms pic.jpg | name = Len Simms | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date|1943|8|23}} | birth_place = Howley, Dominion of Newfoundland | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|1|26|1943|8|23}} | death_place = | office1 = Leader of the Opposition (Newfoundland) | term_start1 = 1991 | term_end1 = 1995 | successor1 = Lynn Verge | predecessor1 = Tom Rideout | office2 = Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland | term_start2 = 1991 | term_end2 = 1995 | successor2 = Lynn Verge | predecessor2 = Tom Rideout | office3 = Speaker of the Newfoundland House of Assembly | term_start3 = 1979 | term_end3 = 1982 | predecessor3 = Gerry Ottenheimer | successor3 = James Russell | office4 = MHA for Grand Falls | term_start4 = 1979 | term_end4 = 1995 | predecessor4 = John Lundrigan | successor4 = Mike Mackey | party = Progressive Conservative | occupation = }}
'''Leonard Archibald Simms''' (October 23, 1943 – January 26, 2026) was a Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vh0VAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Simms+leonard%22+1943|title=Who's who in Canada: An Illustrated Biographical Record of Men and Women of the Time|isbn=9780919339026|last1=Parker|first1=Charles Whately|last2=Greene|first2=Barnet M.|year=1982}}</ref> He was the Progressive Conservative Member of the House of Assembly for Grand Falls from 1979 to 1995. From 2005 until 2014, Simms was chairman and chief executive officer of the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation, a provincial crown corporation.
Simms served as Speaker of the House of Assembly from 1979 to 1982 when he was appointed to the provincial cabinet of Premier Brian Peckford. Simms served in the portfolios of Culture, Recreation and Youth, Forest Resources and Lands, President of Treasury Board and President of Executive Council.<ref>{{cite web|title=Senior executive appointments made|url=http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2005/exec/0223n04.htm|publisher=Government of Newfoundland and Labrador|accessdate=24 February 2012|date=23 February 2005}}</ref>
He ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1989 but lost to Tom Rideout who subsequently appointed him Development Minister in his Cabinet.<ref>{{cite news|title=Newfoundland cuts cabinet as election rumors fly|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/470433191.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+28%2C+1989&author=(CP)&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Newfoundland+cuts+cabinet+as+election+rumors+fly&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201085612/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/470433191.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+28,+1989&author=(CP)&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Newfoundland+cuts+cabinet+as+election+rumors+fly&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 1, 2013|accessdate=24 February 2012|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=28 March 1989|page=A.8}}</ref> The Tory government was defeated in the 1989 general election and Simms moved to the Opposition benches. He succeeded Rideout in 1991 to become Leader of the Opposition and party leader. The party lost the 1993 general election and Simms resigned as party leader two years later.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tory leadership race a cliff-hanger|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/497355691.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+01%2C+1995&author=&pub=Waterloo+Region+Record&desc=Tory+leadership+race+a+cliff-hanger&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131185207/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/497355691.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+01,+1995&author=&pub=Waterloo+Region+Record&desc=Tory+leadership+race+a+cliff-hanger&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013|accessdate=24 February 2012|newspaper=The Record|date=1 May 1995|page=B.3}}</ref>
Simms was appointed head of the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation by Premier Danny Williams in 2005. In 2007 he stepped down in order to take a senior role in Williams' 2007 re-election campaign and was immediately re-appointed to the $130,000-a-year housing corporation position following the election leading to complaints of "blatant patronage" from the Opposition.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/critics-decry-obscene-patronage-in-simms-reappointment-1.690511 Critics decry 'obscene' patronage in Simms reappointment], ''CBC News'', October 19, 2007</ref>
Simms died in January 2026, at the age of 82. He was paid tribute by Premier Tony Wakeham.<ref>{{cite news |title=Len Simms, Former PC Leader and Long-Time Public Servant, Passes Away |url=https://vocm.com/2026/01/26/len-simms-former-pc-leader-and-long-time-public-servant-passes-away/ |access-date=28 January 2026 |publisher=VOCM |date=26 January 2026}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{NL PC Leaders}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, Len}} Category:1943 births Category:2026 deaths Category:Speakers of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly Category:Members of the Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs Category:Newfoundland and Labrador political party leaders Category:Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador Category:20th-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly