 Previously, McCurdy was the union's secretary-treasurer for 13 years, from 1980 to 1993.McCurdy was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1950, and grew up in St. John's, Newfoundland where he attended Prince of Wales Collegiate.He is a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland, where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1972, and worked as a reporter for "The St. John's Evening Telegram" in the 1970s, covering the labour beat, before becoming involved with the fisheries' union.