2003 New Brunswick general election

The 2003 New Brunswick general election was held on June 9, 2003, to elect the 55 members of the 55th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly.

2003 New Brunswick general election

← 1999 June 9, 2003 2006 →
← outgoing members members →
55 seats of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick 28 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	68.67% [1]
First party Second party Third party   NDP Leader Bernard Lord Shawn Graham Elizabeth Weir Party Progressive Conservative Liberal New Democratic Leader since 1997 2002 1988 Leader's seat Moncton East Kent Saint John Harbour Last election 44 10 1 Seats won 28 26 1 Seat change 16 16 Popular vote 174,092 170,028 36,989 Percentage 45.4% 44.4% 9.7% Swing 7.6% 7.1% 0.9%
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 after election Bernard Lord Progressive Conservative

Rendition of party representation in the 55th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly decided by this election.

  Progressive Conservatives (28)

  Liberals (26)

  New Democrats (1)

Although early polls suggested a landslide victory for the incumbent Progressive Conservatives of Premier Bernard Lord, the dynamics of the race shifted after Shawn Graham, leader of the Liberal Party, made auto insurance rates a key issue of his campaign.

Lord and the Progressive Conservatives were ultimately re-elected, but with their majority government reduced to just one seat, finishing only two seats ahead of Graham's Liberals. The New Democrats held their sole seat in the legislature.

Campaign

Leading up to the election, New Brunswick had its car insurance rates skyrocket. The Liberal Party of New Brunswick consequently focused its campaign on three points:

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

On the other hand, the campaign of Premier Bernard Lord and his Progressive Conservative Party faced a number of problems, especially after changing its position on the key issue of auto insurance 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]

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.

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

Results

Results by party

Summary of the 2003 Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick election results

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats				Popular vote
				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.

Popular vote PC   45.45% Liberal   44.39% New Democratic   9.66% Others   0.50%

Seats summary PC   50.91% Liberal   47.27% New Democratic   1.82%

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
		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
		Popular Vote:	47.7%	50.2%	42.0%	41.0%	44.3%	40.6%	44.4%
	New Democratic	Seats:	-	-	-	1	-	-	1
		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	Candidates								Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other
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	Candidates								Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other
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	Candidates								Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other
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	Candidates								Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other
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	Candidates								Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other
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	Candidates								Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other
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

See also