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Liberals win landslide victory in New Brunswick election, elect first female premier

The New Brunswick Liberals have secured a landslide victory against the two-term Progressive Conservative government – taking 31 seats in the legislative assembly. 

It was a crushing blow for the PCNB party, securing just 16 seats. 

“It’s not the night we hoped for but it is what it is,” he said in a speech shortly after it was confirmed he’d lost his seat in Quispamsis. 

He lost his seat by just 2.4 per cent to Liberal newcomer Aaron Kennedy.

“I knew it would be tight, but I was optimistic we would survive this.” 

Higgs was first elected in 2018 as premier and saw New Brunswick through the COVID-19 pandemic, which is seen to be handling the crisis best among many provinces and territories. 

He led the government through significant fiscal management and helped reduce the debt, but in his later years in office – there was a shift in sociocultural issues. 

Policy 713 became a pivotal issue in 2024 – which was a policy changed by the government that required transgender and non-binary students to have parental consent for a name change. 

It was a change that caused the revolt of his caucus, including 12 members not reoffering in the election. 

In many ridings, there were battles between candidates running neck-in-neck. 

Charlotte County stays blue

Kathy Bockus, PC incumbent for Saint Croix, reclaimed the riding with more than 3,200 votes. 

The riding has typically voted blue, but Troy Lyons, the Liberal candidate came in second, with more than 2,000 votes. Green candidate Mark Groleau also did well – coming in a close third to Lyons, with about 1,400 votes. 

She said she felt there is work to be done in the riding. 

“I feel (like I have) a lot of work to do,” she said. “No, I’m very pleased. I’m very humbled by the trust that the people have placed in me.” 

Kathy Bockus is MLA-elect for Saint Croix. (Nathalie Sturgeon/CHCO-TV)

Bockus said she heard a lot of things when door knocking throughout the campaign. Healthcare, she explained, is the primary one.

“Healthcare, access to affordable housing and homelessness,” she said. 

Fundy-The Isles-Saint John Lorneville also stayed with the Progressive Conservative party, electing Ian Lee – who replaces Andrea Anderson-Mason. 

Anderson-Mason unseated long-time Liberal Rick Doucet in 2018. Lee won the riding 3,900 votes, compared to the 2,000 votes secured by Liberal candidate Patty Borthwick. 

Ridings that flipped to the Liberals

Meanwhile, several Saint John and Moncton ridings flipped in favour of the Liberals. 

In Saint John Harbour, former Saint John city councillor David Hickey secured his first term, formerly held by former cabinet minister Arlene Dunn – who was one of the dozen MLAs not to reoffer and resigned from her seat early. 

Dr. John Dornan, who was publicly fired by Blaine Higgs following the death of a man in an ER waiting area when he was CEO of Horizon Health Network, won his seat in a 29-year Progressive Conservative stronghold. 

In neighbouring Rothesay, former Attorney General and MLA Ted Flemming was defeated by Liberal candidate Claire Johnson. 

Fredericton-North was also a riding that saw former Social Development Minister Jill Green lose her seat to newcomer Luke Randall. 

Back in Moncton, several key PC members were unseated. In Moncton Centre, former Finance Minister Ernie Steeves was defeated. 

While in Moncton-South, Greg Turner – who recently had become Post-Secondary, Training and Labour Minister, lost his riding. 

Green Party Leader David Coon did secure his seat in a new riding – Fredericton-Linclon — with 60 per cent of new constituents following the redrawing of electoral boundaries. 

The party did lose ground, though, with Kevin Arseneau failing to maintain Kent North. 

In Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins, evangelist candidate Faytene Grasseschi lost by a few hundred votes to Liberal John Herron. Herron was a former federal Member of Parliament for Fundy Royal under the Conservatives.

Overall takeaways 

Blaine Higgs told CBC News in an interview it would be unlikely he would remain as leader of the PCNB party, but didn’t resign in his speech on Monday night. 

“I knew it was going to be a tight race,” he said to CBC News. “We were really impressed with the quality of candidates we had in the ridings, all over the province. I was optimistic, I knew it would be tight, but I was optimistic we would survive this.” 

In his concession speech, Higgs wished Holt well in her new term as premier. 

Premier-designate Susan Holt embraces one of her three daughters after winning a landslide victory in the New Brunswick election. (Brad Perry/Acadia Broadcasting)

And as for Premier-designate Susan Holt, she becomes New Brunswick’s female premier. 

In an impassioned speech, flanked by her three young daughters and husband, she thanked Blaine Higgs for his service to the province. 

“It’s going to be on us to bring the change that you are asking for every day, in everything we communicate to you,” Holt said. “But I know we can do it with teamwork. I know we can do it with the focus on the people of New Brunswick.”

Author

  • Nathalie Sturgeon, Local Journalism Initiative, The Courier. The Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada, aims to provide journalism to underserved communities. She joined the team in August 2024 and was formerly a digital broadcast journalist with Global News in New Brunswick. She has past experience as the editor of the Kings County Record in Sussex, N.B. She is from White Rapids, New Brunswick, just outside of Miramichi. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in journalism from St. Thomas University in Fredericton. Nathalie is a strong supporter of local and community news -- and hopes to tell the most important stories for the people of Charlotte County and beyond.

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