Wilma MacInnis Appointed Child and Youth Advocate

Wilma MacInnis has been appointed Newfoundland and Labrador’s new Child and Youth Advocate, effective June 15.

MacInnis succeeds Linda Clemens-Spurrell, who retired from the position in August 2025.

MacInnis holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from Memorial University and has been a registered social worker in Newfoundland and Labrador since 1993.

Before her appointment, she served as director of strategic services and outreach with the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate since 2018.

In 2025, MacInnis assumed the additional role of director of individual advocacy, providing clinical and case supervision for frontline advocacy specialists and working closely with service providers on complex matters involving children and youth.

Throughout her 33-year career, MacInnis has held a variety of positions within the provincial government, including victim services regional co-ordinator, provincial manager of victim services, director of quality assurance, provincial director of family justice services and director of court services with the Provincial Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.

She was also the province’s first social worker with the Huntington Society of Canada.