1978 New Brunswick general election
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox election
The 1978 New Brunswick general election was held on October 23, 1978, to elect 58 members to the 49th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Richard Hatfield's Progressive Conservative Party narrowly won its third term.
The governing PCs won 30 seats to 28 for the opposition;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the result was the closest in New Brunswick history. The popular vote was very close: 146,719 votes were cast for Conservative candidates, and 146,596 for Liberals. In order to secure a workable majority following the election, Hatfield appointed Liberal Robert McCready as speaker of the legislature, despite strong objections from McCready's Liberal colleagues; McCready went on to seek re-election as a Conservative and served in Hatfield's cabinet.
The Parti Acadien had its best ever showing in the election, winning 12% of the vote in the ridings where it fielded candidates, and coming within 200 votes of electing Armand Plourde in Restigouche West.
Background
In the lead up to 1978, the Opposition Liberal Party seemed destined to return to power. A number of scandals had been tied to the Conservatives and Liberal leader Robert Higgins was widely popular. In early 1978, Higgins believed he had tied some of the scandals directly to Hatfield himself. In a bold move, Higgins promised to resign should Hatfield prove that he was not tied directly to the scandal, which Hatfield promptly did. Higgins was forced to abruptly resign and was replaced by Joseph Daigle as leader. The Liberals mused that Hatfield had purposely ensured false information was leaked to the Liberals to lead them into making false accusations.
Higgins' resignation created Hatfield's best chance to go to the polls. He called an election shortly after Daigle became Liberal leader. Despite the lack of a direct link to Hatfield, scandal remained tied to his government and a close election result was assured.
Campaign
Hatfield's government was not entirely clean. The Liberals pointed to the Conservatives' budgets, which no longer maintained a surplus. The Bricklin failure was also fresh on voters' minds. While campaigning in anglophone sections of the province, Hatfield accused Daigle of being an anti-monarchist for supporting Pierre Trudeau's constitutional reforms.
Results
| 1978 New Brunswick election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Leader | Results | ||
| Seats | % of votes cast | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Richard Hatfield | 30 | 44.39% | |
| Liberal | Joseph Daigle | 28 | 44.36% | |
| New Democratic | John LaBossiere | 0 | 6.48% | |
| Parti Acadien | Jean-Pierre Lanteigne | 0 | 3.5% | |
| Independents | 0 | 1.27% | ||
| Total | 58 | 100.0% | ||
Template:Bar boxTemplate:Bar box
Results by riding
North
Consisting of Victoria, Madawaska, Restigouche and Gloucester county ridings.
Template:Canadian politics/candlist header
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Victoria-Tobique
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|J. Douglas Moore 2,763
|
|Bruce Hoyt 2,032
|
|Earl W. Christensen 727
|
|
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|J. Stewart Brooks†
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Grand Falls
|
|Joseph H. Rideout 1,063
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Everard H. Daigle 2,779
|
|Guildoi Pelletier 621
|
|
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Everard H. Daigle
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Madawaska-les-Lacs
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Jean-Pierre Ouellet 2,876
|
|Nelson Bellefleur 2,071
|
|
|
|Yves C. LeClerc (Parti acadien) 90
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Jean-Pierre Ouellet
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Madawaska Centre
|
|Léonard Plourde 1,352
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Gérald Clavette 2,208
|
|
|
|Aline Thérèse Gagnon (Parti acadien) 106
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Gérald Clavette
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Edmundston
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Jean-Maurice Simard 3,228
|
|Donald D'Amours 2,470
|
|
|
|Céline Couturier (Parti acadien) 194
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Jean-Maurice Simard
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Madawaska South
|
|Jean-Marc Violette 1,398
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Héliodore Côté 1,832
|
|
|
|Père Léo Theriault (Ind.) 659
Jacques Lapointe (Parti acadien) 137
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Daniel Daigle†
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Restigouche West
|
|Jean Guy Ramond 1,576
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Alfred J. Roussel 2,174
|
|
|
|Armand Plourde (Parti acadien) 2,003
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Alfred J. Roussel
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Campbellton
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Fernand G. Dubé 2,734
|
|J. H. Wilfred Senechal 2,467
|
|Bryce Andrew 331
|
|Paul Aubin (Parti acadien) 337
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Fernand G. Dubé
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Dalhousie
|
|Aubrey Brownie 2,201
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Allan E. Maher 2,726
|
|Léopold Arseneault 274
|
|Réal Gendron (Parti acadien) 246
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|John Potter†
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Restigouche East
|
|Guy Laviolette 1,402
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Rayburn Donald Doucett 2,035
|
|Gail Walsh 509
|
|Roland Godin (Parti acadien) 217
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Rayburn Donald Doucett
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Nigadoo-Chaleur
|
|Roland Boudreau 2,346
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Pierre Godin 2,960
|
|Kevin O'Connell 387
|
|Dr. Jean-Pierre Lanteigne (Parti acadien) 1,103
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Roland Boudreau
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Nepisiguit-Chaleur
|
|Hilaire Brideau 1,102
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Frank Branch 3,156
|
|
|
|Paul-Émile Mourant (Parti acadien) 858
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Frank Branch
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Bathurst
|
|John A. Duffy 2,075
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Paul Kenny 2,667
|
|Kevin Mann 2,176
|
|Lucie Losier (Parti acadien) 560
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Eugene McGinley†
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Caraquet
|
|Beatrice "Bibi" Doiron 2,809
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Onil Doiron 3,925
|
|
|
|Michel Blanchard (Parti acadien) 1,534
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Onil Doiron
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Shippagan-les-Îles
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Jean Gauvin 3,023
|
|André Robichaud 2,476
|
|
|
|Michel Haché (Ind.) 1,280
Laval Auclair (Parti acadien) 466
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|André Robichaud
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Tracadie
|
|George McLaughlin 2,490
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Doug Young 4,374
|
|
|
|Alyre Morais (Parti acadien) 806
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Adjutor Ferguson†
|}
Central
Consisting of Carleton, York, Sunbury and Northumberland county ridings.
Template:Canadian politics/candlist header |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Carleton North |Template:Canadian party colour| |Charles G. Gallagher 2,397 | |Samuel J. "Sam" Perkins 1,694 | | | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Charles G. Gallagher |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Carleton Centre |Template:Canadian party colour| |Richard B. Hatfield 2,043 | |David Crouse 1,734 | | | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Richard B. Hatfield |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Carleton South |Template:Canadian party colour| |Steven P. Porter 2,317 | |Pat Saunders 1,776 | |Garth Brewer 389 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |A. Edison Stairs† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|York North |Template:Canadian party colour| |Adelbert David Bishop 3,681 | |Richard Albert Carr 3,137 | |Albert Fraser MacDonald 741 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Adelbert David Bishop |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|York South |Template:Canadian party colour| |Leslie "Les" Hull 4,440 | |Blaine E. Hatt 3,036 | |Mark Allen Canning 444 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Les Hull |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Fredericton South |Template:Canadian party colour| |J. W. "Bud" Bird 5,525 | |Stephen Patterson 4,252 | |Margo Dunn 643 | |Harry John Marshall (Ind.) 92 |Template:Canadian party colour| |George Everett Chalmers† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Fredericton North |Template:Canadian party colour| |Edwin G. Allen 5,304 | |Carl Edward Howe 3,528 | |Christopher Devlin Hicks 662 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Lawrence Garvie† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Sunbury |Template:Canadian party colour| |Horace Smith 3,045 | |Ted Rogers 2,233 | |Randy E. Brodeur 373 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Horace Smith |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Oromocto | |John Edward McKee 2,467 |Template:Canadian party colour| |LeRoy Washburn 2,522 | |Jim Aucoin 283 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |LeRoy Washburn |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Southwest Miramichi | |John Munn 2,578 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Morris Green 2,725 | | | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Sterling Hambrook† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Miramichi-Newcastle | |Douglas R. Woods 3,127 |Template:Canadian party colour| |John McKay 3,200 | | | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |John McKay |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Chatham | |Greg Barry 2,019 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Frank E. Kane 2,920 | |Lloyd Vienneau 379 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Frank E. Kane |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Bay du Vin | |Robert S. Lamkey 1,816 |Template:Canadian party colour| |L. Norbert Thériault 2,515 | | | |Joseph Alban Mazerolle (Ind.) 101 |Template:Canadian party colour| |L. Norbert Thériault |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Miramichi Bay | |James Kenneth Gordon 1,750 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Edgar LeGresley 2,232 | | | |Solomon Curry (Ind.) 1,524 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Edgar LeGresley |}
South West
Consisting of Queens, Kings, Saint John and Charlotte county ridings.
Template:Canadian politics/candlist header |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Queens North |Template:Canadian party colour| |Wilfred George Bishop 2,059 | |Eva Andries 1,145 | | | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Wilfred George Bishop |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Queens South | |A.P. Hetherington 1,446 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Robert B. McCready 1,577 | |Charles Viger 202 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Robert Corbett† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Kings West |Template:Canadian party colour| |John B. M. Baxter 4,047 | |Jack Stevens 3,023 | |George Little 1,132 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |John B. M. Baxter |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Kings Centre |Template:Canadian party colour| |Harold N. Fanjoy 3,284 | |David L. Nice 2,130 | |R. Harvey Watson 745 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Harold N. Fanjoy |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Kings East |Template:Canadian party colour| |Hazen Myers 3,251 | |Gordon A. Lewis 2,135 | |Ernest A. Seedhouse 342 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |George Horton† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Saint John Fundy |Template:Canadian party colour| |Beverly J. Harrison 2,196 | |Kevin Kilfoil 1,370 | |Larry Hanley 932 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |William J. Woodroffe† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|East Saint John |Template:Canadian party colour| |G.S. "Gerry" Merrithew 3,626 | |George Creary 2,220 | |Douglas Justason 1,143 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Gerry Merrithew |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Saint John Harbour | |E. Lorne Richardson 1,680 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Louis E. Murphy 1,772 | |Harrison G. Harvey 625 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |John Turnbull† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Saint John South |Template:Canadian party colour| |Nancy Clark 1,622 | |John P. Mooney 1,543 | |David M. Brown 416 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |John P. Mooney |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Saint John Park | |Garry Bona 1,677 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Shirley Dysart 1,976 | |David T. Pye 551 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Robert J. Higgins† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Saint John North |Template:Canadian party colour| |Eric J. Kipping 1,906 | |Harry G. Colwell 1,569 | |Henry Thomas Watts 430 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Shirley Dysart* |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Saint John West |Template:Canadian party colour| |Rodman Emmason Logan 3,935 | |Delvan G. O'Brien 2,411 | |James William Orr 886 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Rodman Emmason Logan |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Charlotte-Fundy |Template:Canadian party colour| |James Nelson Tucker 1,741 | |Bernard L. Moses 1,311 | |George Robertson 164 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |James Nelson Tucker |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Charlotte Centre | |Robert D. "Bob" Lee 1,210 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Sheldon Lee 1,404 | | | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |DeCosta Young† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Charlotte West |Template:Canadian party colour| |Leland W. McGaw 1,815 | |Philip Earl Johnson 1,074 | |William C. Mosher 201 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Leland W. McGaw |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|St. Stephen-Milltown |Template:Canadian party colour| |Bill Cockburn 1,986 | |Sydney Holmes 1,238 | |Charles Roland Campbell 136 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Bill Cockburn |}
South East
Consisting of Kent, Westmorland and Albert county ridings.
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|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Kent North
|
|Louis Arsenault 1,070
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Joseph Daigle 3,156
|
|
|
|Philippe Ouellette (Parti acadien) 358
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Joseph Z. Daigle
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Kent Centre
|
|Claude Giruan Warren 1,171
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Alan Robert Graham 2,352
|
|John B. LaBossiere 249
|
|Pierrette Leblanc (Parti acadien) 121
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Alan Robert Graham
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Kent South
|
|Omer Léger 3,279
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Bertin LeBlanc 4,276
|
|
|
|Dolan Surette (Parti acadien) 138
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Omer Léger
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Shediac
|
|Régis Cormier
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Azor LeBlanc 5,342
|
|
|
|Henri-Eugène Duguay (Parti acadien) 603
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Azor LeBlanc
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Tantramar
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Lloyd Folkins 2,019
|
|James G. Purdy 1,232
|
|Robert Arthur Hall 1,924
|
|
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Lloyd Folkins
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Memramcook
|
|Euclide Daigle 1,348
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|William "Bill" Malenfant 4,605
|
|Joseph Eugene Guy LeBlanc 345
|
|Donatien Gaudet (Parti acadien) 643
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Bill Malenfant
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Moncton East
|
|Raymond J. Thibodeau 2,006
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Ray Frenette 3,921
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|John William Kingston 592
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|Simone LeBlanc-Rainsville (Parti acadien) 469
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Ray Frenette
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Moncton North
|
|Albert L. Galbraith 3,023
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Father Mike McKee 4,362
|
|Guy J. Richard 477
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|David Britton (Parti acadien) 225
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Mike McKee
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Moncton West
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Mabel DeWare 4,211
|
|Donald A. Canning 2,831
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|
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|Paul Hebert (Parti acadien) 230
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Paul Creaghan†
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Petitcodiac
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|C.W. "Bill" Harmer 4,911
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|Harold Alward 3,420
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|Ronald McGrath 621
|
|Rev. C. Edward Pickett (Ind.) 556
Patrick D. Clarke (Parti acadien) 117
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Bill Harmer
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Riverview
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Brenda M. Robertson 4,443
|
|W. A. "Bill" Payne 1,967
|
|
|
|
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Brenda M. Robertson
|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Albert
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Malcolm MacLeod 2,669
|
|Grant William Colpitts 1,289
|
|Robert J. Candy 351
|
|
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Malcolm MacLeod
|}