1995 New Brunswick general election

The 1995 New Brunswick general election was held on September 11, 1995, to elect 55 members to the 53rd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada.

1995 New Brunswick general election
September 11, 1995
55 seats of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
28 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
PC
Leader Frank McKenna Bernard Valcourt
Party Liberal Progressive Conservative
Leader since 1985 1995
Leader's seat Miramichi-Bay du Vin Edmundston
Last election 46 3
Seats won 48 6
Seat change Increase2 Increase3
Popular vote 201,150 120,247
Percentage 51.63% 30.87%
Swing Increase4.52% Increase10.17%
  Third party Fourth party
 
NDP
CoR
Leader Elizabeth Weir Greg Hargrove
Party New Democratic Confederation of Regions
Leader since 1988 1995
Leader's seat Saint John Harbour Mactaquac (lost re-election)
Last election 1 8
Seats won 1 0
Seat change Steady Decrease8
Popular vote 37,579 27,684
Percentage 9.65% 7.11%
Swing Decrease1.13% Decrease14.09%
Map of New Brunswick's ridings coloured in based on the winning parties and their popular vote
Premier before election

Frank McKenna
Liberal

 Premier after election

Frank McKenna
Liberal

Rendition of party representation in the 53rd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly decided by this election.
  Liberals (48)
  Progressive Conservatives (6)
  New Democrats (1)

The Liberals were again victorious. McKenna's personal popularity allowed the Liberals to maintain a large majority while the Tories managed only 6 seats, while the CoR lost all theirs. The combined PC-CoR vote exceeded that of the Liberals in an additional 10 ridings (Albert, Fundy Isles, Kings East, Mactaquac, Petitcodiac, Saint John-Fundy, Southwest Miramichi, Victoria-Tobique, Western Charlotte and Woodstock).

Also of note, there were 55 ridings in this election, as opposed to 58 in previous elections. It was the first time boundaries were redrawn in New Brunswick since 1974.

Background

Valcourt, a popular politician from Edmundston, had served as an MP from 1984 to 1993, and served in the cabinets of Prime Ministers Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell. The New Brunswick Tories had been in shambles for the better part of a decade. They were shut out of the legislature in 1987, and won only three seats and third place in 1991. The internal meltdown of the CoR party had left them much room on the right, and polls showed that there would be a competitive race.

The election marked the debut of Bernard Valcourt as a provincial politician, and as leader of a reinvigorated Progressive Conservative Party. Frank McKenna sought a third term for his Liberal government, while the Confederation of Regions (CoR) party struggled to survive after considerable internal strife. Elizabeth Weir tried to expand her New Democratic Party's foothold in the legislature.

Opinion polls
Evolution of voting intentions at provincial level
Polling firm Last day
of survey		 Source NBLA NBPC NBNDP CoR Other ME Sample
Election 1995 September 11, 1995 51.63 30.87 9.65 7.11 0.75
Omnifacts September 4, 1995 [1] 66 21 9 4 — 4.5 498
Corporate Research Associates August 1995 [2] 64 12 5 6 — — —
Omnifacts August 1995 [3] 56 15.9 4.6 1.4 — — 614
Election 1991 September 23, 1991 47.11 20.69 10.78 21.18 0.24

Results
Party Party Leader # of
candidates		 Seats Popular Vote
1991 Dissolution Elected % Change # % Change
  Liberal Frank McKenna 55 46 42 48 +4.3% 201,150 51.63% +4.52%
  Progressive Conservative Bernard Valcourt 55 3 6 6 +100% 120,247 30.87% +10.17%
  New Democratic Elizabeth Weir 55 1 1 1 - 37,579 9.65% -1.13%
Confederation of Regions Greg Hargrove 36 8 6 0 -100% 27,684 7.11% -14.09%
  Natural Law Christopher Collrin 17 * - - - 1,267 0.33% *
  Independents 8 - 2 - - 1,635 0.42% +0.21%
  Vacant 1  
Total 226 58 58 55 -5.45% 389,562 100% -5.65%

* Natural Law did not contest the 1991 election.

Popular vote
Liberal
 
 51.63%
PC
 
 30.87%
New Democratic
 
 9.65%
Conf. of Regions
 
 7.11%
Others
 
 0.74%
Seats summary
Liberal
 
 87.27%
PC
 
 10.91%
New Democratic
 
 1.82%

Candidates

Many new and changed districts were used for the first time in this election as a result of an electoral redistribution.

Legend

  • bold denotes a party leader
  • italics denotes a potential candidate who has not received his/her party's nomination
  • † denotes an incumbent who is not running for re-election
  • * denotes an incumbent seeking re-election in a new district

Northern New Brunswick
Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
LiberalPCNDPOther
1. Restigouche West Jean Paul Savoie 3,745 Luc LeBrun 3,230 Wendy Martin 200 Marcelle Lamontagne (Natural Law) 93 Jean-Paul Savoie
2. Campbellton Edmond Blanchard 4,831 Florent Jim Levesque 1,207 Louis Renaud 425 Harold I. Hargrove (CoR) 368
Laurent Maltais (Natural Law) 93		 Edmond Blanchard
3. Dalhousie-Restigouche East Carolle de Ste. Croix 4,006 Gail Walsh 743 Aurèle Ferlatte 2,753 Charles Gendron Stewart (Ind.) 220
Chris Jensen (Natural Law) 81		 Allan Maher†
merged district
Rayburn Doucett†
4. Nigadoo-Chaleur Albert Doucet 4,421 Maxime Lejeune 2,555 Ulric DeGrâce 662 Francine Richard (Natural Law) 126 Albert Doucet
5. Bathurst Marcelle Mersereau 4,956 Graham Wiseman 695 Kim Power 824 William Parker (Natural Law) 88 Marcelle Mersereau
6. Nepisiguit Alban Landry 3,715 Anne-Marie Gammon 1,953 Normand Savoie 690 Andie Haché (Natural Law) 87 Frank Branch†
7. Caraquet Bernard Thériault 4,367 Bernard Haché 1,804 Jean-Marie Nadeau 1,792 Marc Boulay (Natural Law) 68 Bernard Thériault
8. Lamèque-Shippagan-Miscou Jean-Camille DeGrâce 4,124 Paul Robichaud 4,096 Daniel Brindle 222 Gilles Godin 56 Jean Gauvin†
9. Centre-Péninsule Denis Landry 3,448 Roland Mallais 2,749 Pierre Cousineau 373 new district
10. Tracadie-Sheila George McLaughlin 3,803 Elvy Robichaud 4,214 Aldoria Noël 172 Elvy Robichaud

Eastern New Brunswick
Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
LiberalPCNDPOther
11. Miramichi Bay Danny Gay 3,504 Jim Gordon 3,334 Mary M. Parker 237 Allison Furlotte (CoR) 91 Danny Gay
12. Miramichi-Bay du Vin Frank McKenna 5,089 Scott Hickey 2,114 Debbie McGraw 617 Brian E. Farrah (Natural Law) 92 Frank McKenna
merged district
Reg MacDonald
13. Miramichi Centre John McKay 4,081 Paul Dawson 3,803 Terry Carter 353 John McKay
14. Southwest Miramichi Reg MacDonald* 3,227 Andy Dawson 2,326 Allan Goodfellow 337 Gerald Stewart (CoR) 1,055
Gayer Holmes (Ind.) 147		 Brent Taylor†
15. Rogersville-Kouchibouguac Kenneth Johnson 3,530 Hermel Mazerolle 2,728 Charles Richard 493 new district
16. Kent Alan Graham 4,318 Stéphane Comeau 903 John LaBossiere 522 Percy R. Beers (CoR) 387 Alan Graham
merged district
Conrad Landry†
17. Kent South Camille Thériault 6,313 Charles Ryan 1,774 Clifford Meunier 740 Camille Thériault
18. Shediac-Cap-Pélé Bernard Richard 6,963 Jean-Claude Bourque 1,006 John Gagnon 543 Bernard Richard

Southeastern New Brunswick
Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
LiberalPCNDPCoROther
19. Tantramar Marilyn Trenholme 3,414 Eric Wheeler 654 Berkeley Fleming 844 Julia Stevens 553 Marilyn Trenholme Counsell
20. Dieppe-Memramcook Greg O'Donnell 6,639 Bernard Lord 2,181 Bernice Butler 577 Robert Henry 177 Greg O'Donnell
21. Moncton East Ray Frenette 4,466 Brian Donaghy 1,302 Gérard Snow 854 Gerry Fullerton 604 Ray Frenette
22. Moncton South Jim Lockyer 4,332 Bob Leighton 1,236 Blair McInnis 577 Don Freeman 861 James E. Lockyer
23. Moncton North Gene Devereux 4,333 Marc LeBlanc 1,139 Mark Robar 608 Cyril Flanagan 945 Michael Boucher (Natural Law) 40 vacant
24. Moncton Crescent Kenneth R. MacLeod 3,832 Barbara Winsor 1,489 Richard Hay 426 Dean Ryder 1,017 Richard Mullins 227 new district
25. Petitcodiac Hollis Steeves 2,398 Charles Harmer 1,650 Jennifer Stairs 310 Tom Taylor 1,673 Dennis Cochrane†
26. Riverview Al Kavanaugh 4,090 Scott MacGregor 1,712 David Bailie 317 Doug Roper 1,436 Gordon Wilden*
27. Albert Harry Doyle 2,871 Wayne Steeves 1,964 Elizabeth Venart 353 Doug Duff 1,350 Beverly Brine†
28. Kings East LeRoy Armstrong 3,074 Hazen Myers 3,030 Brian Stone 325 Gordon Willden* 548 Brian A. Chown (Ind.) 193 Hazen Myers

Greater Saint John & Fundy Coast
Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
LiberalPCNDPCoROther
29. Hampton-Belleisle Georgie Day* 3,310 Ronald Hatfield 2,837 Shirley Short 870 Ben Macaulay 456 Neil Dickie (Natural Law) 69 new district
30. Kennebecasis Peter LeBlanc 3,279 John van Kralingen 2,069 Elizabeth Thompson 1,522 Bob Ross 471 new district
31. Saint John-Fundy Stuart Jamieson 2,447 Rodney Weston 2,263 Aubrey Fougere 968 Bernard Toole 224 Phyllis Johnston (Natural Law) 49 Stuart Jamieson
32. Saint John-Kings Laureen Jarrett 3,176 Bill Artiss 2,561 Pam Coates 825 Gary Ewart (Ind.) 497
Allison Pring (Natural Law) 60		 new district
33. Saint John Champlain Roly MacIntyre 2,222 Lisa Keenan 1,547 Paula Tippett 1,888 Christina Green 200 George Jenkins†
34. Saint John Harbour Robert A. Higgins 1,813 Lloyd Betts 702 Elizabeth Weir 2,901 Roland Griffith 137 Janice MacMillan (Natural Law) 52 John Mooney†
merged district
Elizabeth Weir
35. Saint John Portland Leo McAdam 2,454 Trevor Holder 2,113 Greg Barry 1,507 Terry Van Duzee 209 Leo McAdam
merged district
Shirley Dysart†
36. Saint John Lancaster Jane Barry 2,954 Norm McFarlane 2,673 Kenneth Wilcox 1,030 Peter Whitebone 215 Richard Gerrior (Ind.) 188
Christopher Collrin (Natural Law) 49		 Jane Barry
37. Grand Bay-Westfield Edward Kelly 1,583 Milt Sherwood 2,332 Julie Dingwell 1,471 Colby Fraser 527 new district
38. Charlotte Sheldon Lee 3,645 Sharon Tucker 1,269 Eugene Dugas 124 Lynn Mason 107 Teresa James (Ind.) 54 Sheldon Lee
merged district
Eric Allaby
39. Fundy Isles Eric Allaby* 1,201 Bob Jackson 1,111 Bill Barteau 77 John Cunningham 171 new district
40. Western Charlotte Ann Breault 3,076 Ken Stevens 1,752 John Alexander 257 Tony Huntjens 1,590 Reid Hurley†
merged district
Ann Breault

Greater Fredericton
Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
LiberalPCNDPCoROther
41. Oromocto-Gagetown Vaughn Blaney* 3,537 Jody Carr 1,861 Sandra Burtt 390 Ab Rector 914 Ab Rector
42. Grand Lake Doug Tyler* 3,743 Stephen McCready 2,177 Danny Young 420 Connie Webber 1,501 new district
43. Fredericton North Jim Wilson 4,235 Walter Brown 1,778 Elaine Perkins 1,074 Ross Ingram 1,569 Ed Allen†
44. Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak Greg Byrne 3,241 Brent Bishop 1,464 Patricia Kennedy 929 Nancy Curtis 857 new district
45. Fredericton South Russ King 4,141 David Peterson 1,980 Dick Grant 1,042 Dave O'Brien 776 Jeanne Geldart (Natural Law) 108 Russ King
46. New Maryland Joan Kingston 3,719 Robert Penney 1,759 Eric Keating 636 Max White* 1,873 new district
47. York John Flynn 3,632 Martin MacMullin 1,815 Mary van Gaal 546 Stephen Little 1,350 Patricia Carlson (Natural Law) 56 Danny Cameron†
48. Mactaquac David Olmstead 3,106 Donald Parent 2,131 Thomas Steep 505 Greg Hargrove 1,755 Greg Hargrove

Upper Saint John River Valley
Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
LiberalPCNDPOther
49. Woodstock Bruce Smith 3,306 Fred Hanson 3,058 David Kennedy 530 Lynn Avery (CoR) 687 Bruce Smith
50. Carleton Butch Green 3,216 Dale Graham 4,016 Deanna Grant 220 David Kilcollins (CoR) 438 Allison DeLong†
merged district
Dale Graham
51. Victoria-Tobique Larry Kennedy 2,845 Greg Inman 2,838 Leslie Ferguson 114 Kevin Jensen (CoR) 592
Carter Edgar (Ind.) 109		 Larry Kennedy
52. Grand Falls Region Paul Duffie 4,583 Jean-Guy Laforest 2,301 André Faust 264 Paul Duffie
53. Madawaska-la-Vallée Gérald Clavette 2,908 Percy Mockler 3,964 Jean-Marie St. Onge 118 Gérald Clavette
merged district
Percy Mockler
54. Edmundston Roland Beaulieu 2,803 Bernard Valcourt 4,215 Maureen Michaud 102 Roland Beaulieu
55. Madawaska-les-Lacs Georges Corriveau 3,085 Jeannot Volpé 4,060 John Nowlan 103 Georges Corriveau

References
  1. "Poll predicts victory for N.B. Grits". The Globe and Mail. September 6, 1995. p. N7.
  2. McIllroy, Anne (August 13, 1995). "Miles in front of the pack, McKenna still runs scared". The Ottawa Citizen. p. A5.
  3. Cox, Kevin (August 12, 1995). "McKenna set to call vote for Sept. 11: Liberals' tough management line leaves Tories scrambling to come from behind". The Globe and Mail. p. A8.
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