Outcry over Newfoundland minister’s use of AI results in tears in the legislature

Arts Minister Andrea Barbour tearfully addressed the N.L. Assembly, saying criticism against her for posting AI edited photos goes ‘beyond politics.’

ST. JOHN’S — A cabinet minister in Newfoundland and Labrador broke down in tears in the legislature Thursday after days of uproar over her use of artificial intelligence in a social media post.

Tourism Minister Andrea Barbour apologized for using generative AI to alter a photo of The Rooms provincial art gallery, which she then shared on social media.

The image is the latest in a series of AI-related controversies to befall the Newfoundland and Labrador government, though the first for the newly elected Progressive Conservatives.

“There’s a difference between legitimate criticism and sustained personal attack,” Barbour said Thursday, calling out the jokes and outrage on social media, as well as repeated questions from the Opposition Liberals.

“What I have experienced is beyond politics,” she added.

The photo Barbour shared erased a statue of a caribou silhouette above the museum’s front door. The caribou honours the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, hundreds of whom died during the First World War.

In Barbour’s image, the statue was replaced by text that said, “The Rooms.” It was accompanied by a message about the province’s tourism sector, posted to celebrate the start of National Tourism Week.

Liberal members accused Barbour of slighting artists and veterans.

When Opposition members first questioned Barbour about the picture on Tuesday, she told the legislature she didn’t know what they were talking about.

On Wednesday, she apologized, saying, “I used AI in a photo and I do regret it.”

On Thursday, following her tearful speech, Liberal member Lisa Dempster said she did not believe her colleagues broke any rules with their questions. It is the Opposition party’s duty to ask questions, Dempster said.

However, she said social media has become a “terrible, terrible place.”

Lloyd Parrott, the Tory energy minister, pointed to the former Liberal government’s issues with artificial intelligence. As reported by Radio-Canada and The Independent online news outlet, citations referring to sources that appeared not to exist were found in reports submitted to the former Liberal government last year.

“They’re coming in here today focusing on one individual who admitted she made a mistake,” Parrott said Wednesday of the Liberals. “Shameful.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 23, 2026.

The Canadian Press