The 32nd New Brunswick general election was held on September 23, 1991, to elect 58 members to the 52nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly

52nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly

The 52nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly was created following a general election in 1991 and was dissolved on August 12, 1995.-Leadership:...

, 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...

.

Though Frank McKenna

Frank McKenna

Francis Joseph "Frank" McKenna, PC, OC, ONB, QC is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat. He is currently Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. He served as Canadian Ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006...

's 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...

 were expected to win a second term after sweeping all 58 seats in 1987

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...

, any of the other three parties were considered contenders for official opposition.

The New Democratic Party was led by Elizabeth Weir

Elizabeth Weir

Elizabeth Jane Weir is a lawyer and politician in New Brunswick, Canada. She was elected leader of the New Democratic Party of New Brunswick in 1988 and became an opposition voice to the Liberal government, which held all 58 seats in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick.Born in Belfast,...

, who had been the strongest and most consistent voice of opposition to the Liberals since her election as party leader in 1988. In the ensuing three years, thanks to the lack of opposition members in the legislature (MLAs

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....

), her firebrand style had made her a well-known name in New Brunswick politics.

The fledgling 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...

 had been created out of the ashes of the Hatfield

Richard Hatfield

Richard Bennett Hatfield, PC, ONB was a New Brunswick politician and long time Premier of the province .- Early life :...

 Tories

Tory

Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...

 when the latter went from majority government

Majority government

A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...

 to zero seats in 1987. CoR was running numerous former Tory MLAs and candidates, and even some former Tory cabinet ministers. Its base of support was in English-speaking regions of New Brunswick, where many conservatives had become alienated by Hatfield's close relationship with Acadians.

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...

 had been in power for the majority of years since confederation

Confederation

A confederation in modern political terms is a permanent union of political units for common action in relation to other units. Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution, confederations tend to be established for dealing with critical issues such as defense, foreign...

, and 17 straight years before 1987. Even so, the scandals of the final Hatfield years and the growing unpopularity of the federal Progressive Conservatives

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

 hindered their success. Additionally they had perceived internal problems having gone through four leaders since the last election: Hatfield, then two-year interim leader

Interim leader

An interim leader, in Canadian politics, is a party leader appointed by the party's legislative caucus or the party's executive to temporarily act as leader when a gap occurs between the resignation or death of a party leader and the election of a formal successor...

 Malcolm MacLeod

Malcolm MacLeod

Malcolm MacLeod may refer to:*Malcolm MacLeod , Scottish clan chief*Malcolm MacLeod , British scientist*Malcolm MacLeod , politician from New Brunswick, Canada...

 then Barbara Baird, and then Dennis Cochrane

Dennis Cochrane

Dennis H. Cochrane is a Canadian politician and civil servant.He graduated from the New Brunswick Teacher's College in 1970, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Brunswick in 1974, received a Bachelor of Education in 1974 and a Master of Education in 1981 from the...

.

As expected, the Liberals won a large majority. Many were surprised that CoR formed the official opposition. Though they ran even with the PCs in popular vote, their concentration of support in rural anglophone ridings gave them considerably more seats. Weir's personal popularity and name recognition was not enough to give her party more seats as she, and the Tories, had votes relatively evenly spread around the province.

Results

Party		Party Leader	# of candidates	Seats				Popular Vote
				1987 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...	font style="font-size: 75%;">Dissolution Dissolution of parliament In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...	Elected	% Change	#	%	Change	Liberal	Frank McKenna Frank McKenna Francis Joseph "Frank" McKenna, PC, OC, ONB, QC is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat. He is currently Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. He served as Canadian Ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006...	58	58	58	46	-20.7%	193,890	47.11%	-13.28%	Confederation of Regions 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...	Arch Pafford Arch Pafford Arch C. Pafford is a politician in New Brunswick, Canada.In the 1988 federal election, he ran for office as a candidate of the Confederation of Regions Party of Canada . He placed third with 10.7% of the vote in the riding of Miramichi...	48	*	-	8	-	87,256	21.2%	*	Progressive 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...	Dennis Cochrane Dennis Cochrane Dennis H. Cochrane is a Canadian politician and civil servant.He graduated from the New Brunswick Teacher's College in 1970, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Brunswick in 1974, received a Bachelor of Education in 1974 and a Master of Education in 1981 from the...	58	-	-	3	-	85,210	20.7%	-7.89%	New Democratic	Elizabeth Weir Elizabeth Weir Elizabeth Jane Weir is a lawyer and politician in New Brunswick, Canada. She was elected leader of the New Democratic Party of New Brunswick in 1988 and became an opposition voice to the Liberal government, which held all 58 seats in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick.Born in Belfast,...	58	-	-	1	-	44,384	10.78%	+0.23%	Independents		2	-	-	-	-	850	0.21%	-0.26%
***	Total		224	58	58	58	-	411,590	100.0%	+0.75%

* CoR did not contest the 1987 election.