The countdown to the New Brunswick election is on, with residents heading to the polls to determine the next provincial government on Oct. 21.
Incumbent Progressive Conservative leader Blaine Higgs is hoping for a third term in office.
Higgs has
touted his government’s record, saying the PCs have cut taxes, reduced the debt, and made record investments in health care, education, and infrastructure.
During the campaign, Higgs made election
promises that include reducing the HST, making health care more accessible, making financial literacy part of the school curriculum, investing in addiction treatment, covering long-term disability payments for nurses, and balancing the budget.
Higg’s biggest challenge comes from Liberal Party leader Susan Holt, who is looking to win more seats and form the next government.
Holt’s
platform includes promises of retention payments to nurses, developing 30 community care clinics, recruiting more educators for schools and classrooms, reforming property tax, and introducing a rent cap. She has also promised her government would balance the budget each year.
New Brunswick’s Green Party is also looking for more seats in this election. Leader David Coon said his approach to health care would include nurse practitioners and public funding for therapists to help with mental health and addictions. Coon has also said his party would transform the electrical grid to be 80 percent reliant on renewable energy sources.
Both the PC and Liberals are running a full slate of
candidates, with 49 from each party. The Greens have 46 candidates.
Voting stations will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time on Oct. 21.
Advance polling wrapped up on Oct. 15, with 138,000 ballots cast, which is about 24 percent voter turnout, according to
Elections New Brunswick.
In 2020, nearly 35 percent of voters cast early ballots (131,603 out of 376,903), the Elections New Brunswick’s 2020
report said. Forty-seven percent voted on general election day. During that pandemic election, more than 65 percent of registered voters turned out.
For the 2024 election, 14 voting stations were set up on campuses around the province. They were open from Oct. 15–18, allowing students a chance to vote.
According to the results of an Oct. 17
survey by 338Canada, the Liberal Party has 43 percent of the popular vote with the PCs second at 39 percent. The Green Party has 14 percent support.
Support for the PC and Liberal parties was close until Oct. 4, according to 338Canada data. At that point, the Liberals jumped ahead in popular support, while the PCs fell.
Based on the results, 338Canada is projecting the Liberals to win 25 seats, the PCs to take 22 seats, and the Green Party to garner two seats.
