New Brunswickers elect Liberal government

Susan Holt will become the province’s first female premier

Voters in New Brunswick decided they wanted a new government as Susan Holt’s Liberals won a majority on Oct. 21.

“Tonight’s results make it clear. New Brunswickers are ready for a change,” Holt said in her victory speech.

The Liberals captured 31 seats on election night, six more than the 25 required for a majority. The Progressive Conservatives, who will now form the opposition, won 16 seats. The Green Party captured two ridings.

A leadership race for the PCs could be in the future.

Outgoing premier Blaine Higgs, who lost his seat in Quispmasis, told CBC he doesn’t see “any reason or future for me to continue as leader.”

The ag minister in Higgs’s cabinet won re-election.

Margaret Johnson won in Carleton-Victoria, receiving 62.3 per cent of the vote.

How agriculture fits into the Holt government’s plan for New Brunswick remains to be seen.

Éric Mallet, who served as ag critic in Holt’s shadow cabinet, won re-election in Shippagan-Les-Îles with more than 75 per cent of the vote.

Mentions of food, agriculture and rural issues overall are scarce in the party’s platform.

The Liberals promised to:

• Leverage opportunities and strength to invest in the right sectors at the right time. That includes agriculture, and
• Provide nutritious universal free breakfast and pay-what-you can lunches to all New Brunswick students, leveraging local, New Brunswick food where possible.

Agriculture and agri-food exports from New Brunswick totaled $778.4 million in 2023, topping the record set in 2022 of $689 million.

Farms.com has contacted the Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick for comment on the election results and working with the new government.