WOODSTOCK, N.B. — New Brunswick voters elected a solid Conservative majority government Monday, throwing out Premier Shawn Graham’s Liberals after a single term marred by backtracking on key decisions that ran afoul of public opinion.
The Liberal loss marks the first time since Confederation that a New Brunswick government has failed to win a second consecutive mandate.
“What an incredible night, what a monumental moment in our province’s history,” Tory Leader David Alward told party supporters at a rally in his riding.
“Tonight, you have told us that you are ready for change.
“The Progressive Conservative government will provide you with an open and inclusive government. We will not leave you on the outside looking in.”
The Tories were elected in 42 of the province’s 55 ridings. The Liberals took the rest.
The Conservatives won 49 per cent of the popular vote, while the Liberals got 34 per cent.
The central issue in the 32-day campaign was Graham’s record after four years in power.
Alward — a former cabinet minister in the government led by Bernard Lord until 2006 — routinely accused Graham of breaking his promises and reversing his positions.
Spooked by public protests, the Liberals flip-flopped on several initiatives, including bids to merge post-secondary campuses, scrap early French immersion in English schools, cut ferry services and lay off school support workers.
But the government’s ill-fated plan to sell NB Power to Hydro-Quebec attracted the most controversy. The $4.8-billion deal was eventually renegotiated then shelved amid howls of public outrage.
The move was a key part of Graham’s ambitious plan to make the province financially self-sufficient within 20 years. Though the sale would have wiped out a large chunk of the province’s $8.4-billion debt, critics condemned the plan as a short-term fix that would leave the province with little control over electricity rates.
“Certainly the decisions that Mr. Graham had taken had turned people away,” Alward said in an interview after his speech.
At a rally in his riding, Graham took responsibility for the loss, saying he didn’t anticipate staying on as party leader.
“Voters were upset with us and that’s on my shoulders,” he told supporters in Rexton, his hometown.
Just more than half of Graham’s 19 cabinet ministers lost their jobs, including the ministers of finance and health as well as the attorney general. Energy minister Jack Keir, who was tasked with persuading the public of the merits of the NB Power deal, also lost his seat.
At dissolution, the Liberals had 31 seats and the Conservatives 21. There was one Independent and two seats were vacant. During the campaign, the 42-year-old premier was also criticized for promising to create 20,000 jobs without a plan outlining specifically how that would happen. He said a plan would be drafted three months after the election.
As well, Graham promised to provide laptop computers to the province’s 61,000 middle and high school students — a commitment his rivals dismissed as too extravagant.
Despite a $738-million deficit, Graham and Alward both promised a balanced budget in four years with no tax increases and no drastic spending cuts.
NDP Leader Roger Duguay chastised the Liberals and Conservatives for making promises the province couldn’t afford.