New Brunswick general election, 1970
Encyclopedia
47th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly
The 47th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly represented New Brunswick between March 2, 1971 and October 11, 1974.Wallace Samuel Bird was Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick in 1971. In October of that year, he was succeeded by Hédard Joseph Robichaud....
, the governing house of the province
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
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...
, Canada
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...
. It saw the Liberals defeated, and a new Conservative government take over in 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...
.
Louis Robichaud
Louis Robichaud
Louis Joseph Robichaud, PC, CC, QC , popularly known as "Little Louis" or "P'tit-Louis" , was a Canadian lawyer and politician...
, the Liberal premier since 1960, called the election early by surprise. Some analysts believed Robichaud was tiring of the job of Premier, and that he had accomplished everything that he had set out to do, ending with the Official Languages Act in 1969. With no willing leadership candidates ready to take over at the time, Robichaud called an election.
He had hoped that the Progressive 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...
, led by new leader Richard Hatfield
Richard Hatfield
Richard Bennett Hatfield, PC, ONB was a New Brunswick politician and long time Premier of the province .- Early life :...
, would not be ready for a snap election, but Hatfield released his platform two days before Robichaud did. In fact, the Liberals were forced to write their platform so rapidly they could not get it in by the publishing deadlines for the local newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s in which they purchased advertising space, forcing them to run blank pages. This gaffe was the major turning point in the campaign.
Meanwhile, Hatfield grew increasingly confident. He campaigned across the province in a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
, and analysts were susprised at the ease in which he communicated in both official languages. Although the Liberals won the popular vote, the Conservatives won a majority of the seats in the provincial legislature.
This was also the first New Brunswick provincial election contested by the New Democratic Party, though they did not win any seats.
| New Brunswick general election, 1970 | ||
| Name | Seats | Pop Vote |
| Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick 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... | 32 | 48.4% |
| New Brunswick Liberal Association 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... | 26 | 48.6% |
| New Brunswick New Democratic Party 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:... | 0 | 2.8% |
| Other / Non-Partisan | 0 | 0.2% |