Sean was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland but grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Accounting from Saint Francis Xavier University. He worked for NBTel before attending Dalhousie Law School, graduating in 1988. While attending Dalhousie, he was on the Student Union Executive and served as President of the Law Students Association.
Upon graduating, Sean served as a summer student at what was then Scales Jenkins and McQuaid (now Stewart McKelvey) in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He continued to work with the firm and was named a partner at 29 years of age. In 2003, Sean left the firm to take a leadership role in the family business, commonly known as Paderno. That was also the year he ran his first of 4 marathons.
In 2008, Sean rejoined Stewart McKelvey where he served as Regional Managing Partner. In 2011, Sean was elected the Member of Parliament of Charlottetown. He was re-elected in 2015, 2019, and again most recently in 2021. In Parliament, Sean has served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, as well as the Chair of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, and Chair of the Liberal Atlantic Caucus. Sean is currently the Chair of the Standing Committee on Health, and a member of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs. Sean lives in Charlottetown with his wife, Deirdre and their dog, Yoda.