2003 New Brunswick general election

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

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

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".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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

Template:Election table |- style="background-color:#CCCCCC" !rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|Party !rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|Party leader !rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|# of
candidates !colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|Seats !colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|Popular vote |- style="background-color:#CCCCCC" | style="text-align:center;" |1999 | style="text-align:center;" |Dissolution | style="text-align:center;" |Elected | style="text-align:center;" |% Change | style="text-align:center;" |# | style="text-align:center;" |% | style="text-align:center;" |Change Template:Canadian party colour | style="text-align:left;" |Bernard Lord | style="text-align:right;" |55 | style="text-align:right;" |44 | style="text-align:right;" |46 | style="text-align:right;" |28 | style="text-align:right;" |-39.1% | style="text-align:right;" |174,092 | style="text-align:right;" |45.45% | style="text-align:right;" |-7.6% Template:Canadian party colour | style="text-align:left;" |Shawn Graham | style="text-align:right;" |55 | style="text-align:right;" |10 | style="text-align:right;" |7 | style="text-align:right;" |26 | style="text-align:right;" |+271% | style="text-align:right;" |170,028 | style="text-align:right;" |44.39% | style="text-align:right;" |+7.1% Template:Canadian party colour | style="text-align:left;" |Elizabeth Weir | style="text-align:right;" |55 | style="text-align:right;" |1 | style="text-align:right;" |1 | style="text-align:right;" |1 | style="text-align:right;" |- | style="text-align:right;" |36,989 | style="text-align:right;" |9.66% | style="text-align:right;" |+0.9% Template:Canadian party colour | style="text-align:left;" |Jim Webb | style="text-align:right;" |10 | style="text-align:right;" |n/a¹ | style="text-align:right;" |- | style="text-align:right;" |- | style="text-align:right;" |  | style="text-align:right;" |1,550 | style="text-align:right;" |0.40% | style="text-align:right;" |n/a¹ Template:Canadian party colour | colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |Independent | style="text-align:right;" |2 | style="text-align:right;" |- | style="text-align:right;" |- | style="text-align:right;" |- | style="text-align:right;" |  | style="text-align:right;" |415 | style="text-align:right;" |0.11% | style="text-align:right;" |-0.1% Template:Canadian party colour | style="text-align:left;" colspan="4" |Vacant | style="text-align:right;" |1 | style="text-align:center;" colspan="5" |  |- | style="text-align:left;" colspan="3" |Total | style="text-align:right;" |177 | style="text-align:right;" |55 | style="text-align:right;" |55 | style="text-align:right;" |55 | style="text-align:right;" |- | style="text-align:right;" |383,074 |colspan="2"|100% |- | style="text-align:left;" colspan="11" |Source: http://www.gnb.ca/elections |- |}¹ The Grey Party did not contest the 1999 election. Template:Bar boxTemplate:Bar box

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:																	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

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

Eastern New Brunswick

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

Southeastern New Brunswick

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

Greater Saint John & Fundy Coast

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

Greater Fredericton

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

Upper Saint John River Valley

Template:Canadian politics/candlist header |- | style="background:whitesmoke;"|49. Woodstock |Template:Canadian party colour| |David Alward 4,605 | |Lorne Drake 2,400 | |Nancy Reid 286 | |  |Template:Canadian party colour| |David Alward |- | style="background:whitesmoke;"|50. Carleton |Template:Canadian party colour| |Dale Graham 4,190 | |Grant Robinson 2,287 | |Betty Brown 482 | |  |Template:Canadian party colour| |Dale Graham |- | style="background:whitesmoke;"|51. Victoria-Tobique | |Dennis Campbell 2,001 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Larry Kennedy 3,386 | |Harvey Bass 502 | |  |Template:Canadian party colour| |Larry Kennedy |- | style="background:whitesmoke;"|52. Grand Falls Region | |Jean-Guy Laforest 2,586 |Template:Canadian party colour| |Ron Ouellette 4,385 | |Pierre Cyr 192 | |  |Template:Canadian party colour| |Jean-Guy Laforest |- | style="background:whitesmoke;"|53. Madawaska-la-Vallée |Template:Canadian party colour| |Percy Mockler 3,858 | |Claude Malenfant 1,848 | |Mario Fortunato 201 | |  |Template:Canadian party colour| |Percy Mockler |- | style="background:whitesmoke;"|54. Edmundston |Template:Canadian party colour| |Madeleine Dubé 3,917 | |Margot Albert 1,841 | |Blair McInnis 110 | |  |Template:Canadian party colour| |Madeleine Dubé |- | style="background:whitesmoke;"|55. Madawaska-les-Lacs |Template:Canadian party colour| |Jeannot Volpé 3,965 | |Louis LaBrie 2,391 | |Jason Carney 187 | |  |Template:Canadian party colour| |Jeannot Volpé |}

Further reading

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