{{Short description|Canadian politician}} {{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Matt DeCourcey | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|BA|size=100%}} | image = Matt DeCourcey2019.jpg | caption = DeCourcey in 2019 | office = Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs | minister = Chrystia Freeland | term_start = January 30, 2017 | term_end = May 3, 2019 | predecessor = Pamela Goldsmith-Jones | successor = Rob Oliphant | riding1 = Fredericton | parliament1 = Canadian | term_start1 = October 19, 2015 | term_end1 = September 11, 2019 | predecessor1 = Keith Ashfield | successor1 = Jenica Atwin | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|4|4}} | birth_place = Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada | death_date = | death_place = | profession = community outreach specialist | alma_mater = St. Thomas University<br />Mount Saint Vincent University | party = Liberal | footnotes = | spouse = | partner = | children = 1 }} '''Matthew DeCourcey''' (born April 4, 1983) is a Canadian Liberal politician, who represented the riding of Fredericton in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 until 2019.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/fredericton-matt-decourcey-wins-1.3278814 Matt DeCourcey wins Fredericton], CBC News, October 19, 2015.</ref>
==Family and education== Matthew Carey DeCourcey is the son of Harold DeCourcey, a retired probation officer for the Province of New Brunswick, and Dawn DeCourcey, a retired teacher in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
DeCourcey graduated from Fredericton High School in 2001. DeCourcey graduated from St. Thomas University in 2005. DeCourcey graduated from Mount Saint Vincent University in 2007 with a Master's degree in public relations (MPR).
In 2019, he announced his engagement to Liberal member of Parliament Maryam Monsef.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/maryam-monsef-matt-decourcey-engaged_ca_5d7bd9c7e4b03b5fc882f3c3|title=Liberal Minister Announces Engagement To Defeated MP|date=2019-11-07|website=HuffPost Canada|language=en|access-date=2019-11-08}}</ref>
==Career==
DeCourcey first became involved in politics during his studies at St. Thomas University, volunteering for Paul Martin's successful federal Liberal leadership bid in 2003.<ref name=bc>Alex Corbett, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20151015081713/http://www.newbrunswickbeacon.ca/49351/matt-decourcey-picture-liberal-ambition/ Matt DeCourcey, the picture of Liberal ambition]}}, ''The New Brunswick Beacon'', October 14, 2015.</ref> He worked for Fredericton MP Andy Scott from 2005 to 2006, and subsequently worked for Labrador MP Todd Russell.<ref name="Meet Matt DeCourcey">[http://mattdecourcey.liberal.ca/biography/ Meet Matt DeCourcey], Liberal.ca.</ref><ref name=bc/> He was a director on the board of the Fredericton YMCA and taught Child and Youth Rights at Saint Thomas University.<ref name=bc/>
He spent five months in The Gambia on an international development initiative, and on his return to Canada he became the director of communications for New Brunswick's Child and Youth Advocate.<ref name="Meet Matt DeCourcey"/>
==Politics== DeCourcey became the Liberal Party's candidate in Fredericton during the 2015 federal election, and won, ousting Conservative incumbent and former cabinet minister Keith Ashfield.
DeCourcey was appointed to the House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform, which was established due to the campaign promise made by the Liberal Party that 2015 would be the last federal election decided under the first-past-the-post system. That committee travelled across Canada in 2016 to consult with Canadians as to their preference for electoral reform, and in doing so, heard widespread support for a switch from the first-past-the-post electoral system to proportional representation.<ref>Howe, P. (2018). [https://www.fairvote.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/26128-42336-1-PB-1.pdf A New Electoral System for New Brunswick.] Journal of New Brunswick Studies, Issue 9, p. 5.</ref> The Liberal government ultimately refused to table any legislation to enact electoral reform.
In spring 2018 DeCourcey was criticized for violating House of Commons rules by using his taxpayer-funded newsletter to recruit volunteers for the Liberal Party.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nb-conservative-mp-fredericton-liberal-newsletter-1.4664387|title=Conservative questions Fredericton Liberal MP's recruitment tactics. Newsletter featured pictures of door to door visits with volunteers |first=Jacques |last=Poitras|work= CBC News |date=May 16, 2018 }}</ref>
He was defeated in the 2019 federal election by Jenica Atwin of the Green Party.
==Career after electoral politics== In December 2024, Trans Canada Trail announced that DeCourcey had been appointed as its director of government affairs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tctrail.ca/news/matt-decourcey-joins-trans-canada-trail-as-director-of-government-affairs/ |title= Matt DeCourcey joins Trans Canada Trail as Director of Government Affairs | date= 2024-12-11 |publisher=Trans Canada Trail}}</ref>
==Electoral record== {{2019 Canadian federal election/Fredericton}}
{{Canadian election result/top|CA|2015|percent=yes|change=yes|expenditures=yes|}} {{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Matt DeCourcey|23,016|49.26|+25.24|–}} {{CANelec|CA|Conservative|Keith Ashfield|13,280|28.42|-18.55|–}} {{CANelec|CA|Green|Mary Lou Babineau|5,804|12.42|+8.27|–}} {{CANelec|CA|NDP|Sharon Scott-Levesque|4,622|9.89|-14.41|–}} {{Canadian election result/total|Total valid votes/Expense limit|46,722|100.0| |$194,784.13<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.elections.ca/content2.aspx?section=can&dir=cand/canlim&document=index&lang=e|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304045200/http://www.elections.ca/content2.aspx?section=can&dir=cand%2Fcanlim&document=index&lang=e|url-status=dead|title=Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates|first=Elections|last=Canada|archivedate=4 March 2016|website=www.elections.ca|accessdate=8 April 2025|quote=Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates}}</ref>}} {{Canadian election result/total|Total rejected ballots|188|–|–}} {{Canadian election result/total|Turnout|46,910|–|–}} {{Canadian election result/total|Eligible voters|60,587}} {{CANelec/source|Source: Elections Canada<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.elections.ca/Scripts/vis/Candidates?L=e&ED=13003&EV=99&EV_TYPE=6&PROV=NB&PROVID=13&QID=-1&PAGEID=17|title=Voter Information Service - Find your electoral district|accessdate=8 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://enr.elections.ca/ElectoralDistricts.aspx?lang=f|title=Résultats du soir d'élection - Circonscriptions|accessdate=8 April 2025}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=July 2017}}}} {{end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=18459}} * [http://mattdecourcey.liberal.ca/ Official Website]
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeCourcey, Matt}} Category:1983 births Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs Category:Living people Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick Category:Mount Saint Vincent University alumni Category:Politicians from Fredericton Category:St. Thomas University (Canada) alumni Category:21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada