The 2024 New Brunswick general election was held on October 21, 2024, where 49 members were elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. It was formally called upon the dissolution of the 60th New Brunswick Legislature on September 19, 2024.
The incumbent Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick (PC) government, led by Premier Blaine Higgs since 2018, sought re-election to a third consecutive term. The party was defeated by the New Brunswick Liberal Association, led by Susan Holt, with them set to form a majority government in a landslide victory. Higgs was defeated in his own riding of Quispamsis, the first time since 1987 that a sitting New Brunswick Premier lost in their own riding. Upon taking office, Holt became the first woman premier of New Brunswick.
2023 redistribution The Electoral Boundaries and Representation Commission is obliged after every second general election to investigate and report whether boundary adjustments are required to the Province's constituencies. It was required to ensure that revised constituencies have populations that fall within 25% of the determined electoral quotient, and it made its report with recommendations in March 2023.
Objections were raised as to the alignments proposed for Shediac-Cap-Acadie and Tantramar, specifically with respect to the eastern portion of Cap-Acadie (a francophone-majority town) having been placed in the latter, and special legislation was passed to allow a variance in the proposed boundaries.
The following changes took effect:
Abolished NewRenaming of constituencies Carleton Woodstock-Hartland Edmundston-Madawaska Centre Edmundston-Vallée-des-Rivières Fundy-The Isles-Saint John West Fundy-The Isles-Saint John Lorneville Gagetown-Petitcodiac Arcadia-Butternut Valley-Maple Hills Hampton Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins Kent South Beausoleil-Grand-Bouctouche-Kent Portland-Simonds Saint John Portland-Simonds Saint John Lancaster Saint John West-Lancaster Shediac-Beaubassin-Cap-Pelé Shediac-Cap-Acadie Shippagan-Lamèque-Miscou Shippagan-Les-Îles Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins Sussex-Three Rivers Victoria-La Vallée Grand Falls-Vallée-des-Rivières-Saint-QuentinAbolition of constituencies Tracadie-SheilaDrawn from other constituencies Champdoré-Irishtownfrom parts of Moncton East, Shediac Bay-Dieppe, Kent South and Moncton Northwest. Tracadiefrom parts of Tracadie-Sheila, Bathurst East-Nepisiguit-Saint-Isidore, Shippagan-Lamèque-Miscou and Caraquet.Merger of constituencies Albert Moncton Southwest Albert-RiverviewReorganization of constituencies Bathurst East-Nepisiguit-Saint-Isidore Bathurst West-Beresford Campbellton-Dalhousie Restigouche-Chaleur Bathurst Belle-Baie-Belledune Hautes-Terres-Nepisiguit Restigouche East Dieppe Memramcook-Tantramar Dieppe-Memramcook Tantramar Fredericton South Fredericton West-Hanwell New Maryland-Sunbury Oromocto-Lincoln-Fredericton Fredericton-Lincoln Fredericton South-Silverwood Hanwell-New Maryland Oromocto-Sunbury Miramichi Southwest Miramichi-Bay du Vin Miramichi East Miramichi West
Of the 49 constituencies, 17 have Francophone majorities:
Northern Region Restigouche West Restigouche East Belle-Baie-Belledune Bathurst Hautes-Terres-Nepisiguit Caraquet Shippagan-Les-Îles Tracadie
Southeast Region Kent North Beausoleil-Grand-Bouctouche-Kent Shediac Bay-Dieppe Shediac-Cap-Acadie Dieppe-Memramcook Champdoré-Irishtown
Upper River Valley Region Grand Falls-Vallée-des-Rivières-Saint-Quentin Edmundston-Vallée-des-Rivières Madawaska Les Lacs-Edmundston
Background The Legislative Assembly Act was amended in 2017 to provide that an election should be held every four years on the third Monday in October; the election still must be held on a Monday if called sooner.
Minor party deregistrations and registrations On October 31, 2020, after failing to nominate ten candidates in the 2020 election, the KISS NB was deregistered.
On March 30, 2022, Kris Austin and Michelle Conroy announced their departures from the People's Alliance to join the Progressive Conservatives explaining they believed they could better represent their ridings from within government. Premier and Progressive Conservative leader Blaine Higgs reiterated the party's support for official bilingualism when questioned about the People's Alliance's previous stances on the issue which were criticized by the Acadian Society of New Brunswick. The Peoples Alliance was deregistered on March 31, 2022, but re-registered by interim leader Rick DeSaulniers in May 2022.
The Libertarian Party of New Brunswick was registered in July 2024, and put forward candidates in 18 ridings.
In September 2024, the Social Justice Party of New Brunswick and the Consensus NB Party were created, however both failed to nominate at least 10 candidates as required to maintain party status and each will be deregistered following the 2024 election.
Current standings + Standings in the 60th Legislature of New BrunswickAffiliationAssembly members2020 election resultsAt dissolution27251716332001Vacant4Total members4945Total seats4949
Summary of seat changes Changes in seats held (2020–present)SeatBeforeChangeDateMemberPartyReasonDateMemberPartySouthwest Miramichi-Bay du VinAugust 17, 2021Jake StewartResigned to run in Miramichi—Grand Lake in the 2021 federal election (Stewart was elected).June 20, 2022Mike DawsonMiramichi Bay-NeguacLisa HarrisRéjean SavoieFredericton-Grand LakeMarch 30, 2022Kris AustinChanged affiliation, resigning as People's Alliance leader and announcing his intention to deregister the party.MiramichiMichelle ConroyChanged affiliation.Fredericton West-HanwellOctober 16, 2022Dominic CardyExpelled from the PC caucus having resigned his ministerial role.DieppeOctober 21, 2022Roger MelansonResigned to head to the private sector.April 24, 2023Richard LosierRestigouche-ChaleurNovember 27, 2022Daniel GuitardResigned to run for Mayor of Belle-Baie in 2022 elections; elected.Marco LeBlancBathurst East-Nepisiguit-Saint-IsidoreNovember 27, 2022Denis LandryResigned to run for Mayor of Hautes-Terres in 2022 elections; elected.Susan HoltSaint John HarbourFebruary 8, 2024Arlene DunnResigned.Portland-SimondsApril 30, 2024Trevor HolderResigned.HamptonApril 30, 2024Gary CrossmanResigned.AlbertJune 20, 2024Mike HollandResigned (after final legislative session).
Issues
Education New Brunswick has been experiencing major education shortcomings during the 2020s, with the province experiencing massive shortages in teachers and school psychologists, along with school bus drivers in some areas. Schools throughout the province have also reported exceptionally low child literacy rates, with a 2021–22 report concluding that literacy standards were not met by around 40% of the province's fourth grade students, the lowest it has been in 18 years. Kelly Lamrock, the New Brunswick Child and Youth advocate, further reported that child literacy rates had declined by 29% over the past decade. After being released in November 2023, the 2022–23 report for fourth grade student literacy rates showed further decline, with 43.4% scoring "below appropriate achievement" after being assessed for English reading.
In late 2023, the New Brunswick Teachers' Association (NBTA) called for the provincial government to address concerns raised from an internal survey of its members. Among the concerns noted were "understaffed classrooms and overcrowded buildings, with uncertified community members, people without a bachelor of education, sometimes taking the place of actual teachers because of shortages." Many of the 2,916 survey participants reported teaching in overcrowded and poorly ventilated schools, with half also experiencing verbal and physical abuse. Those who called for these issues to be addressed included Liberal leader Susan Holt as well as Kevin Arseneau, a Green MLA for Kent North.
In May 2024, the NBTA projected over 1,200 anglophone teachers that will be eligible for retirement within the next five years, with Peter Lagacy, the NBTA president, adding that this is "an alarming number when we look at how many we have coming into the system."
Staff shortages New Brunswick's public school system has been notably experiencing shortages in teachers, school psychologists and, in certain areas, bus drivers.
While proposing changes for Policy 713, Higgs proposed for "extra counsellors, extra support." According to figures from November 2023, however, the number of school psychologists dropped; out of a total of 28 "full-time equivalent" school psychologist positions filled throughout the province, only six served the province's English school system of approximately 73,000 students.
School busing shortcomings An audit which took place between January and February in 2024 concluded that the provincial Department of Education "lacks oversight on school bus safety and driver requirements." Using a sample size of 65 bus drivers out of a total of around 1,300, the audit reported that 46% of New Brunswick's school bus drivers had ineligible licensing requirements. Additionally, 20% were hired without checking for criminal records, and further percentages of bus drivers had no evidence of bus training (37%) and first aid training (42%). The audit also conducted vehicle inspections on a number of buses, with 45% having deficiencies. Francine Landry, the Liberal MLA for Madawaska Les Lacs-Edmundston, criticized the provincial government led by Higgs for "touting their record on keeping children safe, while failing to fulfil the most basic requirements for doing so." Education Minister Bill Hogan responded, saying that "clearly there's some work to be done in that area in making sure that they're inspected on time."
Policy 713
Policy 713, a provincial education policy which sets minimum requirements for public schools and districts in the province related to individuals identifying and perceived as LGBTQIA2S+, became the subject of massive debate following a 2023 decision made to review and ultimately revise the policy by the Progressive Conservative-led government under Higgs and Bill Hogan, the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. In the aftermath of its revision, a third of the Progressive Conservative caucus members elected under Higgs have either resigned or announced that they would not seek re-election, with some criticizing Higgs' leadership and highlighting a growing disconnect between their personal beliefs and the party's stance. The revision has led to the government becoming involved in legal disputes with its education departments as well as with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, who filed a lawsuit against the government, citing violations against the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and New Brunswick's human rights and education acts. The issue has been the subject of widespread coverage and dispute, and has been covered by major news publications including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and BBC.
Lindsay Jones of The Globe And Mail called the Policy 713 dispute as having "emerged as perhaps the key issue in the next election."
Healthcare Healthcare in New Brunswick has been described as being in a "state of chaos," with hospitals throughout the province experiencing an overcapacity of patients, excessively long waiting times, and health workers experiencing burnout. During a February 2023 press conference, Blaine Higgs stated that "if every doctor in our province took two or three more patients a week, we wouldn't have a backlog." In an Angus Reid survey that recorded Canadians' satisfaction with how their province is dealing with healthcare, New Brunswick recorded the largest drop in satisfaction rate compared to rates surveyed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a rate of just 11 percent, compared to a previous rate of 42 percent.