Tony Huntjens

Who is Tony Huntjens?

Antoon J. "Tony" Huntjens is a former teacher and New Brunswick politician. A resident of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, where he taught High School for thirty-three years, he is currently a member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick for the riding of Western Charlotte.

In the fall of 1961, Huntjens became a Canadian citizen. He studied at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, graduating with a Bachelor of Teaching and a Bachelor of Education degree. He first became active in politics as a member of the Confederation of Regions Party of New Brunswick and was the president of that organization and its candidate in Western Charlotte in the 1995 election. He placed third with 23.7% of the vote, just 162 votes short of the second place Progressive Conservative candidate but well behind the victorious Liberal.

Following the 1995 election, which saw CoR slip from official opposition to zero seats in the legislature, Huntjens joined the Progressive Conservatives and eventually became their candidate for the 1999 election again in Western Charlotte. This time he was successful, winning 51.0% of the vote to 44.9% for his Liberal opponent. Huntjens spent his first term as a backbencher but was re-elected in the 2003 election and joined the cabinet as Minister of Family and Community Services.