List of New Brunswick general elections
Encyclopedia
- This list covers New Brunswick elections after it joined the Canadian ConfederationCanadian ConfederationCanadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
in 1867 as a province. For elections in New Brunswick when it was a British colony, see List of New Brunswick general elections (pre-Confederation)
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
s to the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
's unicameral legislative body
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
, the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...
. Prior to 1892, New Brunswick had a bicameral legislature, but its Upper House
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
– the Legislative Council
Legislative Council
A Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures, or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies.A Member of the Legislative Council is commonly referred to as an MLC.- Unicameral legislatures :...
– was not elected. The number of seats has varied over time – from 41 at the time of Canadian Confederation, to a high of fifty-eight from 1967 through 1991, to the current level of 55 since the 1995 election.
Beginning with the 37th New Brunswick general election in 2010, elections in New Brunswick are – in general – held on fixed dates on the fourth Monday of September every four years. The date may be varied by one week earlier or later in cases of the fourth Monday of September being a date of cultural or religious significance and may be varied one month earlier or later in cases of a federal election being held during the same period. The Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick also has the power to call an election on another date in the event of a loss of confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
in the legislature.
The chart on the upper right shows the information graphically, with the most recent elections towards the right. It shows that New Brunswick has effectively a two-party system
Two-party system
A two-party system is a system where two major political parties dominate voting in nearly all elections at every level of government and, as a result, all or nearly all elected offices are members of one of the two major parties...
– the Liberals
New Brunswick Liberal Association
The New Brunswick Liberal Association , more popularly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major political parties in the Canadian province of New Brunswick...
(red) and the Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick
The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of responsible government to the colony...
(blue); along with the one-off success of the Confederation of Regions party
New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party
The New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party was a political party in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada.It was the only branch of the Confederation of Regions Party to win any seats...
(green) in 1991. It also shows the Liberal party's clean sweep of seats in 1987, one of the few instances in history when a party won all the seats in a national or sub-national legislature. Since provincial parties were officially recognised, the Liberal party have won eleven out of twenty elections.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
1935 to present
Between 1935 and 1974, some ridings were multi memberPlurality-at-large voting
Plurality-at-large voting is a non-proportional voting system for electing several representatives from a single multimember electoral district using a series of check boxes and tallying votes similar to a plurality election...
seats – i.e., more than one Member of the Legislative Assembly
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....
was elected from certain ridings. Political parties
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
were officially recognized and registered beginning in 1935. Since 1974, each riding (electoral district) has elected only one member
First-past-the-post
First-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...
to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...
.
| Election | Liberal New Brunswick Liberal Association The New Brunswick Liberal Association , more popularly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major political parties in the Canadian province of New Brunswick... |
Conservative Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of responsible government to the colony... |
NDP New Brunswick New Democratic Party The New Brunswick New Democratic Party is a social-democratic provincial political party in New Brunswick, Canada linked with the federal New Democratic Party .-Origins and early history:... |
CoR New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party The New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party was a political party in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada.It was the only branch of the Confederation of Regions Party to win any seats... |
Total Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37th | September 27, 2010 | 13 | 42 | 55 | |||
| 36th New Brunswick general election, 2006 The 36th New Brunswick general election was held on September 18, 2006, to elect 55 members to the 56th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada.... |
September 18, 2006 | 29 | 26 | 55 | |||
| 35th New Brunswick general election, 2003 The 35th New Brunswick general election was held on June 9, 2003, to elect 55 members to the 55th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada... |
June 9, 2003 | 26 | 28 | 1 | 55 | ||
| 34th New Brunswick general election, 1999 The 34th New Brunswick general election was held on June 7, 1999, to elect 55 members to the 54th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It marked the debut of both Camille Thériault and Bernard Lord as leaders of the Liberals and... |
June 7, 1999 | 10 | 44 | 1 | 55 | ||
| 33rd New Brunswick general election, 1995 The 33rd New Brunswick general election was held on September 11, 1995, to elect 55 members to the 53rd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election marked the debut of Bernard Valcourt as a provincial politician, and as leader of a... |
September 11, 1995 | 48 | 6 | 1 | 55 | ||
| 32nd New Brunswick general election, 1991 The 32nd New Brunswick general election was held on September 23, 1991, to elect 58 members to the 52nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada.... |
September 23, 1991 | 46 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 58 | |
| 31st New Brunswick general election, 1987 The 31st New Brunswick general election was held on October 13, 1987, to elect 58 members to the 51st New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada... |
October 13, 1987 | 58 | 58 | ||||
| 30th New Brunswick general election, 1982 The 30th New Brunswick general election was held on October 12, 1982, to elect 58 members to the 50th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It saw Richard Hatfield's Progressive Conservative Party win its largest majority ever to that time... |
October 12, 1982 | 18 | 39 | 1 | 58 | ||
| 29th New Brunswick general election, 1978 The 29th New Brunswick general election was held on October 23, 1978, to elect 58 members to the 49th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Richard Hatfield's Progressive Conservative Party narrowly won its third term.In the lead up to... |
October 23, 1978 | 28 | 30 | 58 | |||
| 28th New Brunswick general election, 1974 The 28th New Brunswick general election was held on November 18, 1974, to elect 58 members to the 48th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada... |
November 18, 1974 | 25 | 33 | 58 | |||
| 27th New Brunswick general election, 1970 The 27th New Brunswick general election was held on November 18, 1974, to elect 58 members to the 47th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada... |
October 26, 1970 | 26 | 32 | 58 | |||
| 26th New Brunswick general election, 1967 The 26th New Brunswick general election was held on October 23, 1967, to elect 58 members to the 46th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada.... |
October 13, 1967 | 32 | 26 | 58 | |||
| 25th New Brunswick general election, 1963 The 25th New Brunswick general election was held on April 22, 1963, to elect 52 members to the 45th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada.... |
April 22, 1963 | 32 | 20 | 52 | |||
| 24th New Brunswick general election, 1960 The 24th New Brunswick general election was held on June 27, 1960, to elect 52 members to the 44th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. New Brunswick general election, 1960 Name Seats... |
June 27, 1960 | 31 | 21 | 52 | |||
| 23rd New Brunswick general election, 1956 The 23rd New Brunswick general election was held on June 18, 1956, to elect 52 members to the 43rd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. New Brunswick general election, 1956 Name Seats... |
June 18, 1956 | 15 | 37 | 52 | |||
| 22nd New Brunswick general election, 1952 The 22nd New Brunswick general election was held on September 22, 1952, to elect 52 members to the 42nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. New Brunswick general election, 1952 Name Seats... |
September 22, 1952 | 16 | 36 | 52 | |||
| 21st New Brunswick general election, 1948 The 21st New Brunswick general election was held on June 28, 1948, to elect 52 members to the 41st New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. New Brunswick general election, 1948 Name Seats... |
June 28, 1948 | 47 | 5 | 52 | |||
| 20th New Brunswick general election, 1944 The 20th New Brunswick general election was held on August 28, 1944, to elect 48 members to the 40th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. New Brunswick general election, 1944 Name Seats... |
August 28, 1944 | 36 | 12 | 48 | |||
| 19th New Brunswick general election, 1939 The 19th New Brunswick general election was held on November 20, 1939, to elect 48 members to the 39th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. New Brunswick general election, 1939 Name Seats... |
November 20, 1939 | 29 | 19 | 48 | |||
| 18th New Brunswick general election, 1935 The 18th New Brunswick general election was held on June 27, 1935, to elect 48 members to the 38th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. New Brunswick general election, 1935 Name Seats... |
June 27, 1935 | 43 | 5 | 48 | |||
1866-1934
New Brunswick joined the Canadian confederationCanadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
in 1867. Party labels were not used so it is not plausible to use tables as above. Between 1917 and 1935, party lines had developed, but were not recognized by electoral law. The results are listed below. Before this, only "Government" and "Opposition" were used.
| Election | Standings | Total Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17th New Brunswick general election, 1930 The 17th New Brunswick general election was held on 18 June 1930, to elect 48 members to the 37th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Although political parties had no standing in law, thirty-one MLAs declared themselves to be... |
June 19, 1930 | Government 31 (Conservative) |
Opposition 17 (Liberal) |
48 | |
| 16th New Brunswick general election, 1925 The 16th New Brunswick general election was held on 10 August 1925, to elect 48 members to the 36th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Although political parties had no standing in law, thirty-seven MLAs declared themselves to be... |
August 10, 1925 | Government 37 (Conservative) |
Opposition 11 (Liberal) |
48 | |
| 15th New Brunswick general election, 1920 The 15th New Brunswick general election was held on 9 October 1920, to elect 48 members to the 35th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada... |
October 9, 1920 | Government 24 (Liberal) |
Opposition 13 (Conservative) |
Opposition (United Farmers) 9 Opposition (Farmer-Labour) 2 |
48 |
| 14th New Brunswick general election, 1917 The 14th New Brunswick general election was held on 24 February 1917, to elect 48 members to the 34th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada... |
February 24, 1917 | Opposition 27 (Liberal) |
Government 21 (Conservative) |
48 | |
| 13th New Brunswick general election, 1912 The 13th New Brunswick general election was held on 20 June 1912, to elect 48 members to the 33rd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election was held before the adoption of party lablels.... |
June 20, 1912 | Government 44 (Conservative) |
Opposition 2 (Liberal) |
Neutral 2 | 48 |
| 12th New Brunswick general election, 1908 The 12th New Brunswick general election was held on 3 March 1908, to elect 46 members to the 32nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election was held before the adoption of party lablels.... |
March 3, 1908 | Opposition 31 (Conservative) |
Government 12 (Liberal) |
Neutral 2 | 46 |
| 11th New Brunswick general election, 1903 The 11th New Brunswick general election was held on 3 March 1903, to elect 46 members to the 31st New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election was held before the adoption of party lablels.... |
February 28, 1903 | Government 33 (Liberal) |
Opposition 10 (Conservative) |
Neutral 3 | 46 |
| 10th New Brunswick general election, 1899 The 10th New Brunswick general election was held on 18 February 1899, to elect 46 members to the 30th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election was held before the adoption of party labels.... |
February 18, 1899 | Government 40 (Liberal) |
Opposition 4 (Conservative) |
Neutral 2 | 46 |
| 9th New Brunswick general election, 1895 The 9th New Brunswick general election was held in October 1895, to elect 46 members to the 29th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election was held before the adoption of party labels.... |
October, 1895 | Government 34 (Liberal) |
Opposition 9 (Conservative) |
Neutral 3 | 46 |
| 8th New Brunswick general election, 1892 The 8th New Brunswick general election was held in October 1892, to elect 41 members to the 28th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada... |
October, 1892 | Government 25 (Liberal) |
Opposition 12 (Conservative) |
Neutral 4 | 41 |
| 7th New Brunswick general election, 1890 The 7th New Brunswick general election was held on 20 January 1890, to elect 41 members to the 27th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election was held before the adoption of party labels.... |
January 20, 1890 | Government 26 (Liberal) |
Opposition 15 (Conservative) |
41 | |
| 6th New Brunswick general election, 1886 The 6th New Brunswick general election was held on 26 April 1886, to elect 41 members to the 26th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election was held before the adoption of party lablels.... |
April 26, 1886 | Government 33 (Liberal) |
Opposition 8 (Conservative) |
41 | |
| 5th New Brunswick general election, 1882 The 5th New Brunswick general election was held in June 1882, to elect 41 members to the 25th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election was held before the adoption of party lablels.... |
June, 1882 | Government 22 | Opposition 18 | Neutral 1 | 41 |
| 4th New Brunswick general election, 1878 The 4th New Brunswick general election was held in June 1878, to elect 41 members to the 24th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election was held before the adoption of party lablels.... |
June, 1878 | Government 31 | Opposition 10 | 41 | |
| 3rd New Brunswick general election, 1874 The 3rd New Brunswick general election was held in May and June 1874, to elect 41 members to the 23rd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada... |
May–June, 1874 | Government 35 | Opposition 5 | Neutral 1 | 41 |
| 2nd New Brunswick general election, 1870 The 2nd New Brunswick general election was held in June and July 1870, to elect 41 members to the 22nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada... |
June–July, 1870 | Government 24 | Opposition 16 | Neutral 1 | 41 |
| 1st New Brunswick general election, 1866 The New Brunswick general election of 1866 was held in May and June 1866 to elect 41 members to the 21st New Brunswick Legislative Assembly. This was the 21st general election for the British colony of New Brunswick, but is considered the 1st general election for the Canadian province of New... |
May–June, 1866 | Government 33 (Confederationalist) |
Opposition 8 (Constitutionalist) |
41 | |
See also
- Timeline of Canadian electionsTimeline of Canadian electionsThis article provides a timeline of elections in Canada, including all the provincial, territorial and federal elections. The information starts from when each province was formed or entered the Confederation, and continues through to the present day. The background colour indicates which party won...
- General elections in New Brunswick (pre-Confederation)
- List of political parties in New Brunswick