1999 New Brunswick general election
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox election
The 1999 New Brunswick general election was held on June 7, 1999, to elect the 55 members of the 54th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly.
Campaign
The election marked the debut of both Camille Thériault and Bernard Lord as leaders of the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives respectively. It was Elizabeth Weir's third general election as leader of the New Democratic Party.
Thériault's Liberals were widely expected to win a fourth majority government from the outset of the campaign, with opinion polls showing them leading by double-digits. However, the PCs were able to capitalize on the issue of highway tolls and use it to portray the Liberals as arrogant. Lord made the tolls an effective wedge issue, saying they were unfair to people who lived near the toll booths and had to drive through them daily. Lord then pledged to implement 20 of his key promises in his first 200 days in office, styled as "200 Days of Change", a message modelled on the Contract with America and the Common Sense Revolution, and it resonated with voters. Another disadvantage for the Liberals was the loss of former premier Frank McKenna, who had retired after 10 years in office in 1997. McKenna was widely popular and Thériault had difficulty shaking negative comparisons between himself and his predecessor.
Following a huge surge in the final weeks of the campaign, Lord became Premier with his party winning its largest majority in the history of New Brunswick. Lord's PCs also won the majority of Acadian seats, something the party had struggled to do in the past.
At 80% of the legislature, Lord's 44-seat landslide victory was viewed as remarkable by all parties. Thériault, who came off in the campaign as cold and uncharismatic, delivered what pundits thought was his best speech of the campaign on election night when he said "the people of New Brunswick have spoken, and the people of New Brunswick are never wrong". Furthermore, Lord's massive victory had a coattail effect that resulted in the defeat of many Liberals who had been viewed by pundits as undefeatable.
Opinion polls
| Polling firm | Last day of survey |
Source | NBPC | NBLA | NBNDP | CoR | Other | Template:Abbr | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background:Template:Canadian party colour;" data-sort-type="number"| | style="background:Template:Canadian party colour;" data-sort-type="number"| | style="background:Template:Canadian party colour;" data-sort-type="number"| | style="background:Template:Canadian party colour;" data-sort-type="number"| | style="background:Template:Canadian party colour;" data-sort-type="number"| | |||||
| Election 1999 | June 7, 1999 | 53.0 | 37.3 | 8.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | |||
| Omnifacts | June 1999 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 49 | 40 | 7 | Template:N/A | Template:N/A | 3.2 | 901 |
| Léger | May 26, 1999 | <ref name="May99">Template:Cite news</ref> | 33 | 46 | 15 | Template:N/A | Template:N/A | 3.9 | 603 |
| Omnifacts | May 1999 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 46 | 39 | 13 | 1.5 | Template:N/A | 3.6 | 779 |
| Omnifacts | May 1999 | <ref name="Telegraph99"/> | 45 | 37 | 13 | 1 | Template:N/A | 3.6 | 850 |
| Baseline Market Research | May 1999 | <ref name="Telegraph99">Template:Cite news</ref> | 36.8 | 46.7 | 14.9 | 1.6 | Template:N/A | 3.5 | 443 |
| May 11, 1999 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 33 | 51 | 10 | Template:N/A | 6 | 4.8 | Template:N/A | |
| Corporate Research Associates | March 1999 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 28 | 51 | 8 | Template:N/A | Template:N/A | 4.9 | Template:N/A |
| Baseline Market Research | January 13, 1999 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 32 | 51 | 14 | 3 | Template:N/A | 4.5 | 500 |
| Corporate Research Associates | November 30, 1998 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 25 | 51 | 13 | Template:N/A | Template:N/A | 3.4 | 806 |
| Corporate Research Associates | August 24, 1998 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 20 | 56 | 14 | Template:N/A | Template:N/A | 4.9 | 405 |
| Corporate Research Associates | June 1998 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 21 | 49 | 19 | Template:N/A | Template:N/A | 3.4 | 402 |
| Corporate Research Associates | February 24, 1998 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 30 | 43 | 20 | Template:N/A | Template:N/A | 3.0 | 800 |
| Election 1995 | September 11, 1995 | 30.87 | 51.63 | 9.65 | 7.11 | 0.75 |
Riding-specific polls
Moncton East by-election
| Polling firm | Last day of survey |
Source | NBPC | NBLA | NBNDP | CoR | Template:Abbr | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background:Template:Canadian party colour;" data-sort-type="number"| | style="background:Template:Canadian party colour;" data-sort-type="number"| | style="background:Template:Canadian party colour;" data-sort-type="number"| | style="background:Template:Canadian party colour;" data-sort-type="number"| | |||||
| By-election 1998 | October 19, 1998 | 50.93 | 39.73 | 9.34 | — | |||
| SES Canada Research | October 14, 1998 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 49 | 40 | 11 | Template:N/A | 5.7 | 301 |
| Election 1995 | September 11, 1995 | 18.02 | 61.80 | 11.82 | 8.36 |
Summary of results
| Party | Party Leader | # of candidates |
Seats | Popular Vote | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Dissolution | Elected | % Change | # | % | Change | Progressive Conservative | Bernard Lord | 55 | 6 | 9 | 44 | +289% | 209,008 | 53.0% | +22.1% | Liberal | Camille Theriault | 55 | 48 | 45 | 10 | -77% | 146,934 | 37.3% | -14.3% | New Democratic | Elizabeth Weir | 55 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 34,526 | 8.8% | -0.9% | Jim Webb | 18 | - | - | - | - | 2,807 | 0.7% | -6.4% | Natural Law | Christopher Collrin | 9 | - | - | - | - | 527 | 0.1% | -0.2% | Independents | n/a | 4 | - | - | - | - | 435 | 0.1% | -0.3% |
| Total | 196 | 55 | 55 | 55 | - | 394,237 | 100% | +1.2% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Template:Bar boxTemplate:Bar box
Narrow wins and losses
A lot of Liberals, many high profile, lost their seats by very narrow margins while some barely survived. Below is a list of the 14 ridings (over a quarter of all districts) decided by less than 10%. Incumbent Liberal cabinet ministers are in bold, other incumbents are in italics.
Candidates
Party leaders and cabinet ministers are denoted in bold.
Northern New Brunswick
Template:Canadian politics/candlist header |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|1. Restigouche West | |Jean-Paul Savoie 3,328 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Benoît Cyr 3,592 | |Rose Duguay 255 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Jean-Paul Savoie |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|2. Campbellton |Template:Canadian party colour| |Edmond Blanchard 4,321 | |Pierre F. Dubé 2,569 | |Johanne Parent 295 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Edmond Blanchard |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|3. Dalhousie-Restigouche East | |Carolle de Ste. Croix 2,830 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Dennis Furlong 5,148 | |Joel William Hickey 190 | |Francine Richard (NLP) withdrawn |Template:Canadian party colour| |Carolle de Ste. Croix |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|4. Nigadoo-Chaleur |Template:Canadian party colour| |Roland Haché 3,435 | |Hermel Vienneau 2,862 | |Raoul Charest 1,244 | |Gilles Godin (NLP) 106 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Albert Doucet |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|5. Bathurst |Template:Canadian party colour| |Marcelle Mersereau 3,418 | |Bob Stairs 2,427 | |Antoine Duguay 453 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Marcelle Mersereau |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|6. Nepisiguit | |Alban Landry 2,227 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Joel Bernard 2,534 | |Gilles Halley 1,824 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Alban Landry |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|7. Caraquet |Template:Canadian party colour| |Bernard Theriault 4,194 | |Gaston Moore 3,369 | |Denis Doiron 596 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Bernard Theriault |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|8. Lamèque-Shippagan-Miscou | |Jean-Camille DeGrâce 2,563 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Paul Robichaud 5,910 | |Calixte Chaisson 368 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Jean-Camille DeGrâce |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|9. Centre-Péninsule | |Denis Landry 2,097 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Louis-Philippe McGraw 3,045 | |Roger Duguay 955 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Denis Landry |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|10. Tracadie-Sheila | |Serge Rousselle 2,926 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Elvy Robichaud 5,453 | |Claudette Duguay 285 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Elvy Robichaud |}
Eastern New Brunswick
Template:Canadian politics/candlist header |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|11. Miramichi Bay | |Danny Gay 3,066 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Réjean Savoie 4,014 | |Donald D. Doucet 365 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Danny Gay |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|12. Miramichi-Bay du Vin | |James Doyle 3,076 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Michael Malley 5,393 | |John Gagnon 147 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |James Doyle |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|13. Miramichi Centre | |John McKay 2,975 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Kim Jardine 4,076 | |Terry Mullin 853 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |John McKay |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|14. Southwest Miramichi | |Reg MacDonald 2,850 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Norman Betts 4,019 | |Terry Carter 254 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Reg MacDonald |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|15. Rogersville-Kouchibouguac | |Maurice Richard 2,700 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Rose-May Poirier 2,820 | |Maria Daigle 1,197 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Kenneth Johnson |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|16. Kent |Template:Canadian party colour| |Shawn Graham 3,264 | |Valmond Daigle 2,471 | |Charles Richard 402 | |J.R. Beers (Ind) 103 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Shawn Graham |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|17. Kent South |Template:Canadian party colour| |Camille Thériault 4,546 | |Jean-Noël Allain 3,838 | |Collette Doucette 1,171 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Camille Thériault |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|18. Shediac-Cap-Pélé |Template:Canadian party colour| |Bernard Richard 5,422 | |Odette Babineau 3,240 | |Anne Marie Dupuis 633 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Bernard Richard |}
Southeastern New Brunswick
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|-
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|19. Tantramar
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|Kirk W. Meldrum 925
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Peter Mesheau 3,311
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|Heather Patterson 990
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|Frank Comeau (Ind) 47
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Peter Mesheau
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|20. Dieppe-Memramcook
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|Greg O'Donnell 4,738
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Cy LeBlanc 5,206
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|Marc LeBel 754
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|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Greg O'Donnell
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|21. Moncton East
|
|Kevin John Fram 2,046
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Bernard Lord 5,248
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|Marc Robar 542
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|Laurent Maltais (NLP) 59
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Bernard Lord
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|22. Moncton South
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|James E. Lockyer 2,710
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Joan MacAlpine 3,143
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|Theresa Sullivan 687
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|Template:Canadian party colour|
|James E. Lockyer
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|23. Moncton North
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|Gene Devereux 2,304
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|René Landry 3,776
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|Nancy Hartling 1049
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|John Gallant (CoR) 103
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Gene Devereux
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|24. Moncton Crescent
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|Kenneth R. MacLeod 2,233
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|John Betts 4,825
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|Carl Fowler 699
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|Albert H. Wood (CoR) 85
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Kenneth R. MacLeod
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|25. Petitcodiac
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|Gary Stewart Armstrong 1,171
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Wally Stiles 4,284
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|Blair McInnis 447
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|Donald R. Alward (CoR) 278
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Hollis Steeves
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|26. Riverview
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|Al J. Kavanaugh 2,151
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Pat Crossman 4,439
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|Brad Smith 888
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|Shane Harvey (CoR) 137
Jamie Ed Borden (Ind) 81
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Al J. Kavanaugh
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|27. Albert
|
|Harry Doyle 2,065
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Wayne Steeves 3,633
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|Myrna Geldart 529
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|Dean Ryder (CoR) 136
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Harry Doyle
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|28. Kings East
|
|LeRoy Armstrong 2,420
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Doug Cosman 4,310
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|Jessica Coleman 354
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|Eldon MacKay (CoR) 109
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|LeRoy Armstrong
|}
Greater Saint John & Fundy Coast
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|29. Hampton-Belleisle
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|Georgie Day 2,628
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Bev Harrison 4,551
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|Jocelyne Comeau 769
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|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Georgie Day
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|30. Kennebecasis
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|Peter LeBlanc 2,388
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Brenda Fowlie 4,070
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|Albert Charles Joseph Comeau 939
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|Greg Boyle (CoR) 192
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Peter LeBlanc
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|31. Saint John-Fundy
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|Stuart Jamieson 1,933
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Rodney Weston 3,473
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|Robert E. Holmes-Lauder 494
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|David Lytle (CoR) 115
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Stuart Jamieson
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|32. Saint John-Kings
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|Zita Longobardi 1,752
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Margaret-Ann Blaney 4,605
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|Ken Wilcox 664
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|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Laureen Jarrett
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|33. Saint John Champlain
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|Roly MacIntyre 1,949
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Carole Keddy 2,073
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|Dr. Paula C. Tippett 1,597
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|Dolores H. Cook (CoR) 98
Jeanne Geldart (NLP) 36
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Roly MacIntyre
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|34. Saint John Harbour
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|Mark Thomas McNulty 1,347
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|Tim Clarke 1,349
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Elizabeth Weir 2,398
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|Thomas Mitchell (NLP) 54
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Elizabeth Weir
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|35. Saint John Portland
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|Leo McAdam 1,668
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Trevor Holder 3,773
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|Pam F. Coates 844
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|Miville Couture (NLP) 45
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Leo McAdam
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|36. Saint John Lancaster
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|Jane Barry 2,190
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Norm McFarlane 3,999
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|Bill Farren 945
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|Jim Webb (CoR) 154
Christopher B. Collrin (NLP) 96
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Jane Barry
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|37. Grand Bay-Westfield
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|Grace Losier 1,433
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Milt Sherwood 3,546
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|Percy Ward 490
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|Colby Fraser (CoR) 240
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Milt Sherwood
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|38. Charlotte
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Sheldon Lee 3,263
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|Sharon Tucker 2,071
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|Eugene A. Dugas 299
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|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Sheldon Lee
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|39. Fundy Isles
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Eric Allaby 1,248
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|Ed Brine 1,192
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|Bill Barteau 66
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|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Eric Allaby
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|40. Western Charlotte
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|Peter Heelis 3,071
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Tony Huntjens 3,490
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|Andrew Gordon Graham 283
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|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Ann Breault
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Greater Fredericton
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|41. Oromocto-Gagetown
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|Ron Lindala 2,059
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Jody Carr 4,372
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|Terry John Hovey 283
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|Paul Pye (CoR) 151
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Vaughn Blaney
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|42. Grand Lake
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|Doug Tyler 3,245
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|David Charles Jordan 3,769
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|Phyllis MacLean 384
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|Murray C. Barton (CoR) 223
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Doug Tyler
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|43. Fredericton North
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|Brad Woodside 3,698
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|D. Peter Forbes 4,081
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|Todd Joseph Tingley 632
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|Ronald Bubar (CoR) 203
William Parker (NLP) 34
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Jim Wilson
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|44. Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak
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|Greg Byrne 2,685
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Eric MacKenzie 2,949
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|Pat A. Kennedy 715
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|David Alexander Brown (CoR) 96
Andie Haché (NLP) 31
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Greg Byrne
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|45. Fredericton South
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|Lorraine Siliphant 2,510
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Brad Green 4,070
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|Myrna Gunter 1,409
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|Michael McKay (NLP) 66
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Brad Green
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|46. New Maryland
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|Joan Kingston 3,077
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Keith Ashfield 4,223
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|Carol E. Moore 441
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|George Rennick (CoR) 182
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Joan Kingston
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|47. York
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|John Flynn 3,783
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Don Kinney 4,332
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|Josh Johnson 449
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|Malcolm MacNeil (CoR) 88
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|John Flynn
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|bgcolor=whitesmoke|48. Mactaquac
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|David Olmstead 2,385
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|Kirk MacDonald 4,405
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|Sandra Burtt 463
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|Wilmot F. Ross (CoR) 217
|Template:Canadian party colour|
|David Olmstead
|}
Upper Saint John River Valley
Template:Canadian politics/candlist header |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|49. Woodstock | |James W. Andow 1,989 |Template:Canadian party colour| |David Alward 5,354 | |Sheila Moore 242 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Bruce Atherton Smith |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|50. Carleton | |David Harvey 3,240 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Dale Graham 4,561 | |Marilyn Young 176 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Dale Graham |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|51. Victoria-Tobique |Template:Canadian party colour| |Larry Kennedy 3,127 | |Carmen Cecil Pirie 2,768 | |Amy Dunham 144 | |Carter Charles Edgar (Ind) 204 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Larry Kennedy |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|52. Grand Falls Region | |Marcel Deschênes 3,094 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Jean-Guy Laforest 3,493 | |Jean-Paul Gallant 265 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Paul Duffie |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|53. Madawaska-la-Vallée | |Huguette Plourde 1,798 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Percy Mockler 4,367 | |Jean-Charles Lombard 189 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Percy Mockler |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|54. Edmundston | |Roland Beaulieu 2,173 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Madeleine Dubé 3,567 | |Michael Gagné 366 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Bernard Valcourt |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|55. Madawaska-les-Lacs | |Georges Corriveau 2,138 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Jeannot Volpé 4,289 | |Marie-Pierre Valay-Nadeau 154 | | |Template:Canadian party colour| |Jeannot Volpé |- |}
References
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