FREDERICTON – New Brunswickers are waking up to a transformed political landscape, after the Liberal Party ended six years of Progressive Conservative rule in Monday’s provincial election.
Winning 31 of 49 seats, Susan Holt’s Liberals delivered a convincing majority win, with the Tories earning 16 seats and the Greens two.
Holt has become the first woman premier-designate in the province’s history.
She credits the victory to her campaign’s focus on health care and affordability — she is promising to open 30 community health clinics across the province, to remove the provincial sales tax on electricity bills, and to cap rent increases.
Meanwhile, outgoing Premier Blaine Higgs lost his riding of Quispamsis and told supporters Monday night he will begin the process to replace him as leader.
The Liberals’ win signals a shift away from the socially conservative policies of Higgs, and opens the door to a mending of relations between the province and Indigenous Peoples, who have been highly critical of the Tories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
