N.B. Liberals will form majority government; Holt to become province's first female premier
The New Brunswick Liberals will form a majority government in the province, returning to power for the first time since 2018.
Hundreds of thousands of New Brunswickers headed to the polls Monday to vote in the province’s 61st election.
New Liberal Leader Susan Holt brought the party to victory after the exodus of former head Kevin Vickers following the 2020 election’s disappointing showing for the Liberals.
New Brunswick Liberal Leader Susan Holt gives a speech in Fredericton on election night, Oct. 21, 2024. (Suzette Belliveau/CTV Atlantic)
Liberal Leader Susan Holt delivers a speech after her party won a majority in the New Brunswick election on Oct. 21, 2024. (Suzette Belliveau/CTV Atlantic)
New Brunswick's first female premier
Holt will become the first female premier of New Brunswick. A total of 17 women were elected Monday.
"I want to thank every voter, every person who came out," said Holt during a speech in Fredericton Monday night.
"We don't take it lightly that you've put your trust in our team. It's going to be on us to deliver."
The Liberals came into this election with 16 seats in the legislature, resting at a firm second-place behind the 25-seat Progressive Conservatives. With a majority win, they find themselves in their strongest position since Brian Gallant’s 27-seat election win in 2014.
They gained 15 seats in this election and now hold 30 seats in the legislature.
Doug Tyler, a former Liberal MLA, complimented Holt for the success of her campaign.
“This was a change election,” he said. “They found that change in Susan Holt. She ran a tremendous campaign.”
Holt, who served as the senior economic development advisor under the Gallant government, won the Liberal leadership race in 2022 and was elected to the legislature in 2023.
Across the 33-day election campaign, Holt focused on numerous health-care promises, including community care clinics, expanded midwifery services and in vitro fertilization funding.
She also promised to reverse the Progressive Conservatives’ changes to Policy 713, allowing teachers to use the preferred first names and pronouns of students without first asking parents for permission.
“We have to get straight to delivering on the issues that matter to New Brunswickers and the first step is making life more affordable,” Holt told Battis during an interview Monday night.
“We’ve committed to taking the tax off their power bill, to putting a rent cap in place, to taking the tax off of the price of gas. Those are things we can do quickly so we’re going to move on Day 1 to deliver that relief for so many New Brunswickers who are finding it hard to make ends meet.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Holt on the victory Monday night.
"I look forward to working with Premier-designate Holt to deliver on the priorities of Canadians," Trudeau said. "Together, we will build a more prosperous province and a better future for people in New Brunswick, the Atlantic, and across Canada.
"I thank outgoing Premier Higgs for his service to New Brunswick and to Canada over the last six years. I wish him the best in his future endeavours."
New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party Leader Blaine Higgs delivers a concession speech with his wife Marcia Higgs in Quispamsis, N.B., following the results of the provincial election, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese)
PC Leader Blaine Higgs delivers a concession speech in Quispamsis, N.B., on Oct. 21, 2024. (The Canadian Press/Darren Calabrese)
Higgs loses seat, concedes to Holt
The Liberals’ majority government win leaves the PCs on the outside looking in at power in the province for the first time in six years. It represents a stark downturn for PC Leader Blaine Higgs, who brought the party to majority status in 2020, and who was seeking a third term as premier.
He announced he conceded the race to Holt around 9:15 p.m.
Higgs, who had been an MLA since 2010, also lost his seat Monday in his riding of Quispamsis.
"It's certainly not the night we hoped for," Higgs said, encouraging members to rebuild the PC Party. "The people of New Brunswick have spoken. I know it's a tough loss."
One of the PC Party’s key promises during the campaign was to lower the Harmonized Sales Tax from 15 per cent to 13 per cent.
Higgs had also promised his government would not approve any additional supervised drug injection sites and would instead focus on rehabilitation.
The PCs held 25 seats at dissolution. They lost 14 seats in Monday’s election and now hold 16.
Green Party leader David Coon won his riding on Oct. 21, 2024. (Source: Alana Pickrell/CTV News Atlantic)
Green Leader David Coon gives a speech at Dolan's Pub in Fredericton on Oct. 21, 2024. (Alana Pickrell/CTV Atlantic)
Coon wins Fredericton-Lincoln
Green Leader David Coon was elected in his riding of Fredericton-Lincoln.
“I want to start out by thanking the voters of the new riding of Fredericton Lincoln for putting their trust in me to carry their voice into the legislative assembly of New Brunswick,” said Coon during his speech at Dolan’s Pub in Fredericton Monday night.
Coon has been leading the Green Party since 2012. He was the first Green Party member elected to the New Brunswick legislature in 2014.
The Greens held three seats heading into this election. They lost one seat in Monday’s election so they will hold two seats moving forward.
“It’s heartbreaking I know when you pour yourself and blood, sweat and tears into winning that seat, but it wasn’t to be this election,” said Coon.
“We’re continuing to build. One thing’s for sure: we know that Blaine Higgs is no longer the premier of this province.”
Coon says he called Holt to congratulate her on winning a majority government, but noted her party has a lot of promises to fulfil.
“There’s a lot of expectations across this province in terms of what government’s going to deliver for them given all of the problems and challenges we face here in our beautiful province,” said Coon.
“And as one of the opposition parties … we have an awesome responsibility to push them to be bold, to push them to make the investments necessary to actually fix the health-care system, to push them to serve New Brunswickers in the way they need to be served.”
The Greens largely focused on health care, the high cost of living, and lack of affordable housing during their campaign.
Images of the provincial election day in New Brunswick can be found here.
For more New Brunswick election news, visit our dedicated page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING New clues emerge in hunt for gunman who killed health insurance CEO
As the investigation into a masked gunman who stalked and killed the head of one of the largest U.S. health insurers moved into its third day Friday, possible leads emerged about his travel before the shooting and a message scrawled on ammunition found at the crime scene.
Purolator, UPS pause shipments from couriers amid Canada Post strike
Purolator and UPS have paused shipments from some courier companies as they try to work through a deluge of deliveries brought on by the Canada Post strike.
NDP's Singh forces debate calling on PM Trudeau to send $250 cheques to more Canadians
With the fate of the federal government's promised $250 cheques for 18.7 million workers hanging in the balance, the NDP have forced a debate today on a motion pushing for the prime minister to expand eligibility.
Canadian unemployment rate jumps near 8-year high
Canada had 1.5 million unemployed people in November, propelling its jobless rate to a near-eight-year high outside of the pandemic era and boosting chances of a large interest rate cut on Dec. 11.
Canada's list of banned guns is expanding. Here's what you need to know
Canada is expanding its federal ban on firearms, adding 324 makes and models of guns to the prohibited weapons list, effective immediately.
What is still being delivered? What to know about the Canada Post strike
With Canada Post workers on strike, many individuals and businesses are facing the challenge of sending and receiving mail. Here are the answers to some of Canadians’ most-asked questions.
Sask. father who kept daughter from mom to prevent COVID-19 vaccine free from prison time
Michael Gordon Jackson, the Saskatchewan father who withheld his then seven-year-old daughter from her mom for nearly 100 days to prevent the girl from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, was handed a 12-month prison sentence and 200 days probation on Friday, but credited with time served.
80-year-old driver with expired licence accused of going nearly double the speed limit in eastern Ontario
Ontario Provincial Police say a man caught stunt driving on Highway 37 near Tweed, Ont. Thursday was 80 years old, and his licence was expired.
Jasper family reunites with cat missing 100 days in the wilderness
Nicole Klopfenstein's four-year-old black and white tabby survived in the wilderness for more than 100 days after a ferocious wildfire forced the evacuation of the Rocky Mountain town of Jasper, Alta., this summer.