N.B. election map stays the same after one nail-biter race
Voters in province elect 6 Liberals, 4 Conservatives, just as they did last time
New Brunswick's federal election map was shaping up Monday night to be a whole lot of the same from last time, with the exception of one riding, where things were tight.
In Miramichi-Grand Lake, the result wasn't known until Tuesday, at almost 1:30 a.m., when Liberal Lisa Harris conceded to Conservative Mike Dawson.
And it left the overall picture just as it was: New Brunswick will send six Liberals and four Conservatives to the House of Commons.
By the time the Miramichi vote was known, the CBC had already projected the Liberals would form the next federal govenment.
In New Brunswick, Liberals were projected to win:
- Acadie-Bathurst: Serge Cormier
- Beauséjour: Dominic LeBlanc
- Fredericton-Oromocto: David Myles
- Madawaska-Restigouche: Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault
- Moncton-Dieppe: Ginette Pettipas-Taylor
- Saint John-Kennebecasis: Wayne Long
Conservatives are projected to win:
- Fundy Royal: Rob Moore
- Miramichi-Grand Lake: Mike Dawson
- Saint John-St. Croix: John Williamson
- Tobique-Mactaquac: Richard Bragdon
Among the first winners from New Brunswick was Dominic LeBlanc, the minister of intergovernmental affairs, who was re-elected in Beauséjour, a seat he's held since 2000.
"I never take an election for granted," LeBlanc told reporters at his watch party. "Every time you drive by somebody's house and you see your opponents sign on their lawn, you can imagine that it just increases your nervousness. I've been like that every election."
Another longtime Liberal MP, Wayne Long, was elected in Saint John-Kennebecasis.
Long, the first MP to call for the resignation of former prime minister Justin Trudeau, changed his mind about running again after Carney became the party leader.
"I think Mark was somewhat of a blood pressure-lowerer for the country," Long said in an interview at his victory party. "When he spoke, people listened. People wanted to hear what he had to say. And again, I heard it door after door."
Long beat Conservative Melissa Young, who became a candidate after others seeking the nomination were asked to step aside. He also beat Green David Macfarquhar, the NDP's Armand Cormier and Libertarian Austin Venedam.
"Whether it's Moosehead Breweries or Cooke Aquaculture or the Irving conglomerate or Crosby Molasses — every business that employs thousands of people in this riding were impacted," Long said of the American tariff threats.
LeBlanc held key roles in the Trudeau government, including as a point person in Canada's tariff dispute with the United States.
LeBlanc beat Conservative Nathalie Vautour, the Green Party's Josh Shaddick, the NDP's Alex Gagne, People's Party of Canada's Eddie Cornell and Libertarian Donna Allen.
In Moncton-Dieppe, Liberal Ginette Petitpas Taylor, a former federal cabinet minister with several portfolios, is projected to win a fourth term, beating Conservative Jocelyn Dionne, the Greens' Marshall Dunn and NDP's Serge Landry.
Also projected to win is Serge Cormier in the Liberal stronghold of Acadie-Bathurst, which includes the city and much of the Acadian Peninsula. Cormier has held the riding since 2015. He won against Conservative James Brown, the NDP's Ty Boulay and the People's Party of Canada's Randi Rachelle Raynard.
Liberals are also been projected to win in Madawaska-Restigouche with candidate Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, a councillor in Kedgwick. He was running against Conservative Michael Morin, a councillor in Haut-Madawaska. He beat the NDP's Daisy Petersen and Nancy Mercier with the People's Party of Canada.
Liberal concedes Miramichi-Grand Lake after long fight
In Miramichi-Grand Lake, Dawson and Harris both retook the lead from each other over and over again though the evening. As of 1:30 a.m., Harris told CBC News she didn't see a way to victory and was conceding.
Dawson has been an MLA for the Progressive Conservatives since 2022, and Harris previously served as the area's Liberal MLA for three terms.
They're both leading Green Matthew Ian Clark and New Democrat Josh Floyd.
The riding is large and rural, including downtown Miramichi down to Grand Lake as well as part of the Acadian Peninsula and parts of Kent County.
Conservatives projected winners in strongholds
John Williamson is projected to win in Saint John-St. Croix, which includes St. Stephen and Charlotte County up to Saint John West, which was added to the riding in the latest redrawing of federal districts. Williamson was first elected in 2011, but lost in 2015 to Liberal Karen Ludwig, who he faced and won against again in this election. Williamson was re-elected in 2019 and has served since.
Also running were New Democrat Andrew Hill, Green Gerald Irish and Libertarian Keith Tays.
Incumbent Rob Moore is the projected winner in Fundy-Royal, a large, rural riding that begins on the outskirts of Saint John and goes up the Fundy coast to the outskirts of Moncton. With the redrawing of the riding, it now includes Riverview. Moore, former minister in the Stephen Harper cabinet, was first elected in 2004, was defeated in 2015, won again in 2019 and has served since.
Moore beat Liberal Bill Kudla, a retired electrician. He also leads the Greens' Hans Johnsen, the NDP's Cindy Andrie and People's Party of Canada's Alastair MacFarlane.
Richard Bragdon is projected to win in Tobique-Mactaquac, which includes Woodstock and much of western New Brunswick. Bragdon, who was first elected in 2019, and beat Liberal Julian Moulton, who a Neqotkuk First Nation, the Green Party's Liam MacDougall, the New Democrat Michael John Winter and Vern Brundle of the People's Party of Canada.
CBC News reached out to both Williamson and Bragdon after their races were called but was unable to reach them.
Liberal takes Fredericton
In Fredericton-Oromocto, David Myles, a well-known New Brunswick singer-songwriter, is the projected winner for the Liberals. He would succeed Jenica Atwin, who announced in January that she would not run again.
But Atwin was one of three Green Party members elected to Parliament in 2019 and the first Green ever elected from Atlantic Canada. She later crossed the floor to sit with the governing Liberals and was re-elected in a close race against Conservative Andrea Johnson a few months later.
Although Atwin's change to the Liberals meant the Greens no longer held the seat, Pam Allen-LeBlanc had been hoping to build on her momentum to win this time around. With most polls in, Allen-LeBlanc held just over three per cent of the vote.
The Conservative candidate was Brian MacDonald, who had served in provincial politics as a Progressive Conservative MLA in Fredericton from 2010 to 2018. MacDonald could not be reached for an interview after Myles was projected as winner.
Myles also beat Dominic Cardy of the newly created Canada Future Party and a former provincial MLA and cabinet minister. Also running were Nicki Lyons-Macfarlane of the NDP, Brandon Ellis of the Centrist Party, the Communist Party's June Patterson and Heather Michaud of the People's Party of Canada.
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