New Brunswick general election, 2003

New Brunswick general election, 2003
	← outgoing members members →
55 seats of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick ; 28 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	68.67% [1]
	Map of New Brunswick's ridings coloured in based on the winning parties and their popular vote
Premier before election; Bernard Lord ; Progressive Conservative	Premier-designate; Bernard Lord ; Progressive Conservative

Last updated April 27, 2019

Rendition of party representation in the 55th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly decided by this election.
Progressive Conservatives (28)
Liberals (26)
New Democrats (1) Nb-seating-2003.png — Rendition of party representation in the 55th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly decided by this election.
  Progressive Conservatives (28)
  Liberals (26)
  New Democrats (1)

The 35th New Brunswick general election was held on June 9, 2003, to elect 55 members to the 55th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Starting out as a predicted landslide for Bernard Lord's Progressive Conservatives, the election quickly turned around when Shawn Graham, leader of the Liberal Party of New Brunswick, took on auto insurance rates as a cause.

The provinces and territories of Canada are sub-national governments within the geographical areas of Canada under the authority of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North America—New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada —were united to form a federated colony, becoming a sovereign nation in the next century. Over its history, Canada's international borders have changed several times, and the country has grown from the original four provinces to the current ten provinces and three territories. Together, the provinces and territories make up the world's second-largest country by area.

New Brunswick is one of four Atlantic provinces on the east coast of Canada. According to the Constitution of Canada, New Brunswick is the only bilingual province. About two thirds of the population declare themselves anglophones and a third francophones. One third of the population describes themselves as bilingual. Atypically for Canada, only about half of the population lives in urban areas, mostly in Greater Moncton, Greater Saint John and the capital Fredericton.

Bernard Lord, ONB, QC, is a Canadian lawyer, business executive and former politician. He served as the 30th Premier of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2006. Lord was appointed as board chair of Ontario Power Generation in 2014.

Campaign

People in the province had seen their car insurance rates skyrocket, and the Liberal Party of New Brunswick focussed their campaign on three points:

improved universal health care,
keeping the province's electric utility, NB Power, as a public crown corporation, and
the lowering of automobile insurance rates.

The Liberals ran a virtually flawless campaign, whereas Lord and his PC Party faced a number of problems, especially with their position on the key issue of auto insurance which changed several times during the 30-day campaign.

The results were very close, and for most of election night as the results came in, the winner was unclear. Shawn Graham was even heard to remark on television as the night was drawing to a close that "Up to 5 minutes ago, I thought I was Premier".^[2]

In Canada, a premier is the head of government of a province or territory. Though the word is merely a synonym for prime minister, it is employed for provincial prime ministers to differentiate them from the Prime Minister of Canada. There are currently 10 provincial premiers and three territorial premiers. These persons are styled The Honourable only while in office, unless they are admitted to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, in which case they retain the title even after leaving the premiership.

New Democratic Party of New Brunswick leader, Elizabeth Weir, was the only member of her party to win a seat. The party ran 55 candidates throughout the province.

Elizabeth Jane Weir is a lawyer and politician in New Brunswick, Canada. She was elected leader of the New Democratic Party of New Brunswick in June 1988 and became an opposition voice to the Liberal government, which held all 58 seats in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick.

The newly founded but short-lived New Brunswick Grey Party which was a branch of the Grey Party of Canada also ran 10 candidates, including party leader Jim Webb.

The Grey Party of Canada is a political party in Canada. The party is a protest movement started by senior citizens who want to make views known on specific issues including tax credits for seniors, saving Medicare, and free medications for seniors.

Results

Results by party

e • d **Summary of the 2003 Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick election results**
Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats				Popular vote
Party		Party leader	# of candidates	1999	Dissolution	Elected	% Change	#	%	Change
	Progressive Conservative	Bernard Lord	55	44	46	28	-39.1%	174,092	45.45%	-7.6%
	Liberal	Shawn Graham	55	10	7	26	+271%	170,028	44.39%	+7.1%
	New Democratic	Elizabeth Weir	55	1	1	1	-	36,989	9.66%	+0.9%
	Grey	Jim Webb	10	n/a¹	-	-		1,550	0.40%	n/a¹
	Independent		2	-	-	-		415	0.11%	-0.1%
	Vacant				1
Total			177	55	55	55	-	383,074	100%
Source: http://www.gnb.ca/elections

¹ The Grey Party did not contest the 1999 election.

Results by region

Party Name			North NB	East NB	S. East NB	Greater Saint John/ Fundy Coast	Greater Fred.	Upper Saint John River Valley	Total
	Progressive Conservative	Seats:	2	3	8	6	4	5	28
	Progressive Conservative	Popular Vote:	45.9%	42.4%	49.5%	39.8%	42.1%	55.1%	45.4%
	Liberal	Seats:	8	5	2	5	4	2	26
	Liberal	Popular Vote:	47.7%	50.2%	42.0%	41.0%	44.3%	40.6%	44.4%
	New Democratic	Seats:	-	-	-	1	-	-	1
	New Democratic	Popular Vote:	6.4%	7.4%	7.9%	17.2%	13.4%	4.3%	9.7%
Total seats:			10	8	10	12	8	7	55
Parties that won no seats:
	Grey	Popular Vote:	-	-	0.3%	1.8%	0.2%	-	0.4%
	Independents	Popular Vote:	-	-	0.3%	0.3%	-	-	0.1%

Candidates

Party leaders and cabinet ministers are denoted in bold.

Northern New Brunswick

Electoral District					Incumbent
Electoral District	PC	Liberal	NDP	Other	Incumbent
1. Restigouche West	Benoît Cyr 2,523	Burt Paulin 4,008	Antoine Duguay 257		Benoît Cyr
2. Campbellton	Jean F. Dubé 2,771	Roy Boudreau 3,979	Murray Mason 294		Jean F. Dubé
3. Dalhousie-Restigouche East	Paul McIntyre 3,088	Donald Arseneault 3,445	Joel Hickey 645		Dennis Furlong
4. Nigadoo-Chaleur	Hermel Vienneau 3,529	Roland Haché 3,887	Kate Hayward 380		Roland Haché
5. Bathurst	Nancy MacKay 3,252	Brian Kenny 3,348	Mark Robar 304		Marcelle Mersereau
6. Nepisiguit	Joel Bernard 2,200	Frank Branch 3,498	Normand Savoie 894		Joel Bernard
7. Caraquet	Gaston Moore 3,550	Hédard Albert 3,649	Gérard Béland 457		Gaston Moore
8. Lamèque-Shippagan-Miscou	Paul Robichaud 4,788	Denis Roussel 2,846	Jean-Baptiste Bezeau 335		Paul Robichaud
9. Centre-Péninsule	Louis-Philippe McGraw 3,045	Denis Landry 3,097	Rose Duguay 396		Louis-Phillipe McGraw
10. Tracadie-Sheila	Elvy Robichaud 4,583	Weldon McLaughlin 2,894	Stéphane Richardson 661		Elvy Robichaud

Eastern New Brunswick

Electoral District					Incumbent
Electoral District	PC	Liberal	NDP	Other	Incumbent
11. Miramichi Bay	Réjean Savoie 3,050	Carmel Robichaud 3,227	Hilaire Rouselle 729		Réjean Savoie
12. Miramichi-Bay du Vin	Michael Malley 3,917	Frank Trevors 3,464	Dwayne Hancock 490		Michael Malley
13. Miramichi Centre	Kim Jardine 3,149	John Foran 3,763	Lance Lyons 663		Kim Jardine
14. Southwest Miramichi	Norman Betts 2,823	Rick Brewer 3,395	Chris Ashford 332		Norman Betts
15. Rogersville-Kouchibouguac	Rose-May Poirier 3,289	Maurice Richard 2,968	Oscar Doucet 404		Rose-May Poirier
16. Kent	Valmond Joseph Daigle 1,905	Shawn Graham 3,615	Jerry Cook 958		Shawn Graham
17. Kent South	Claude Williams 4,933	Stephen Doucet 4,065	Neil Gardner 671		Claude Williams
18. Shediac-Cap-Pélé	Odette Babineau 3,063	Bernard Richard 6,464	Claudette Beland 313		Bernard Richard

Southeastern New Brunswick

Electoral District					Incumbent
Electoral District	PC	Liberal	NDP	Other	Incumbent
19. Tantramar	Peter Mesheau 2,922	Susan Purdy 1,569	Geoff Martin 522		Peter Mesheau
20. Dieppe-Memramcook	Cy LeBlanc 5,541	Elie Richard 5,451	Hélène Lapointe 786		Cy LeBlanc
21. Moncton East	Bernard Lord 4,177	Chris Collins 3,113	Jean-Marie Nadeau 724		Bernard Lord
22. Moncton South	Joan MacAlpine 3,143	Norman Branch 2,710	Stéphane Drysdale 437	Jean-Marc Dugas (Ind.) 226 John Gallant (Grey) 72	Joan MacAlpine
23. Moncton North	René Landry 3,054	Mike Murphy 3,555	Nancy McBain 543		René Landry
24. Moncton Crescent	John Betts 4,230	Ray Goudreau 3,776	Richard Goulding 628		John Betts
25. Petitcodiac	Wally Stiles 3,481	Bethany Dykstra 1,849	Tracy Trott 298	Dan Leaman (Grey) 120	Wally Stiles
26. Riverview	Bruce Fitch 3,794	Ward White 3,287	John Falconer 391		vacant
27. Albert	Wayne Steeves 3,198	Clark Butland 2,311	Pat Pearson 457		Wayne Steeves
28. Kings East	Doug Cosman 2,713	Leroy Armstrong 3,169	George Horton 996		Doug Cosman

Greater Saint John & Fundy Coast

Electoral District					Incumbent
Electoral District	PC	Liberal	NDP	Other	Incumbent
29. Hampton-Belleisle	Bev Harrison 3,392	Bob Bates 2,736	Pat Hanratty 1,336	John Hughes (Grey) 208	Bev Harrison
30. Kennebecasis	Brenda Fowlie 3,265	Murray Driscoll 3,247	Kenneth Wilcox 970		Brenda Fowlie
31. Saint John-Fundy	Rodney Weston 2,271	Stuart Jamieson 2,698	Liam Freill 517	Marjorie MacMurray (Grey) 172	Rodney Weston
32. Saint John-Kings	Margaret-Ann Blaney 3,135	Tom Young 2,456	Jeff Thibodeau 791	Mark LeBlanc (Grey) 145	Margaret-Ann Blaney
33. Saint John Champlain	Mel Vincent 1,501	Roly MacIntyre 2,160	Ralph Thomas 1,507	Bill Richard Reid (Grey) 223	Carole Keddy
34. Saint John Harbour	Dennis Boyle 1,286	Anne-Marie Mullin 1,231	Elizabeth Weir 1,929		Elizabeth Weir
35. Saint John Portland	Trevor Holder 2,436	Colleen Knudson 2,307	Mary Arseneau 1,191		Trevor Holder
36. Saint John Lancaster	Norm McFarlane 2,633	Abel LeBlanc 2,942	Walter Lee 1,365	Jim Webb (Grey) 170	Norm McFarlane
37. Grand Bay-Westfield	Milt Sherwood 2,209	Kevin Quinn 1,991	Percy Ward 556	Ben Perry (Grey) 193 Colby Fraser (Ind.) 189	Milt Sherwood
38. Charlotte	Sharon Tucker 1,573	Rick Doucet 2,777	Patty Hooper 1,149	Harold Smith (Grey) 118	Sheldon Lee
39. Fundy Isles	Burton Flynn 1,124	Eric Allaby 1,359	Dick Grant 94		Eric Allaby
40. Western Charlotte	Tony Huntjens 2,854	Madeleine Drummie 2,662	Andrew Graham 554		Tony Huntjens

Greater Fredericton

Electoral District					Incumbent
Electoral District	PC	Liberal	NDP	Other	Incumbent
41. Oromocto-Gagetown	Jody Carr 4,314	Maurice Harquail 2,140	Terry Hovey 392	James Lee (Grey) 129	Jody Carr
42. Grand Lake	David Jordan 2,058	Eugene McGinley 4,376	David Babineau 614		David Jordan
43. Fredericton North	D. Peter Forbes 3,211	T.J. Burke 4,163	Dennis Atchison 1,418		D. Peter Forbes
44. Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak	Eric MacKenzie 2,364	Kelly Lamrock 2,925	Penny Ericson 1,531		Eric MacKenzie
45. Fredericton South	Brad Green 3,309	Misty McLaughlin 2,797	Nan Luke 1,832		Brad Green
46. New Maryland	Keith Ashfield 3,719	Joan Kingston 3,502	Kay Nandlall 923		Keith Ashfield
47. York	Don Kinney 3,278	Scott Targett 3,783	Gary Hughes 618		Don Kinney
48. Mactaquac	Kirk MacDonald 3,337	Ray Dillon 3,236	Phillip Morgan 817		Kirk MacDonald

Upper Saint John River Valley

Electoral District					Incumbent
Electoral District	PC	Liberal	NDP	Other	Incumbent
49. Woodstock	David Alward 4,605	Lorne Drake 2,400	Nancy Reid 286		David Alward
50. Carleton	Dale Graham 4,190	Grant Robinson 2,287	Betty Brown 482		Dale Graham
51. Victoria-Tobique	Dennis Campbell 2,001	Larry Kennedy 3,386	Harvey Bass 502		Larry Kennedy
52. Grand Falls Region	Jean-Guy Laforest 2,586	Ron Ouellette 4,385	Pierre Cyr 192		Jean-Guy Laforest
53. Madawaska-la-Vallée	Percy Mockler 3,858	Claude Malenfant 1,848	Mario Fortunato 201		Percy Mockler
54. Edmundston	Madeleine Dubé 3,917	Margot Albert 1,841	Blair McInnis 110		Madeleine Dubé
55. Madawaska-les-Lacs	Jeannot Volpé 3,965	Louis LaBrie 2,391	Jason Carney 187		Jeannot Volpé

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References

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[1] ttp://www.electionsnb.ca/content/enb/en/resources/publications/election-results.html

[2] NB votes 2003