Liberals Leading Or Elected In Saint John, Fredericton And Moncton
FREDERICTON – The Liberal Party was leading or elected in three urban ridings in southern New Brunswick as votes were still being counted in the early morning hours Tuesday.
In one of a few hotly contested ridings in the province, Liberal Wayne Long defeated former Saint John mayor Mel Norton.
The incumbent Member of Parliament says the win is the result of hard work, teamwork and conveying a “progressive message to Saint John-Rothesay.”
“We didn’t have big corporates on our side, we had the people of Saint John-Rothesay on our side. … We knew what we were up against this time with Mel Norton. Erin O’Toole came to this riding twice. We know the Conservatives wanted this riding back in the Conservative ledger but, we said, ‘no,’” Long said.
Long’s hold on the riding continues to grow with Elections Canada so far reporting he has more than 16,000 votes, a lead of more than 4,000 over Norton with more than 99 per cent of polls reporting at 2 a.m. Tuesday.
In Fredericton, Liberal incumbent Jenica Atwin and Conservative Party candidate Andrea Johnson were in a close race in the early morning hours Tuesday, though Atwin’s lead was widening with 153 of 154 polls reporting.
As of 2 a.m. on Tuesday, Atwin was in the lead with 15,187 votes. Johnson was close behind with 14,686.
The Fredericton riding was projected to be one of the tightest ridings to call in New Brunswick.
More than 3,000 mail-in ballots still haven’t been counted and aren’t expected to be until later on Tuesday, which means it could take time before Elections Canada can declare an official winner.
Speaking at the Crowne Plaza Fredericton-Lord Beaverbrook hotel before numbers were called, Atwin thanked her supporters and campaign members for their trust in her over the last 35 days on the campaign trail.
“My heart is so full of gratitude, we have come through quite a journey together,” said Atwin to supporters.
“To see how we’ve grown into a family over these last 35 days has really meant the world to me, and I’m reminded every day that I made the right choice to join the Liberal Party of Canada.”
Atwin was elected in the 2019 federal election as the Green Party MP. She was the first to be elected west of British Columbia at the time. She then crossed the floor to the Liberals in June 2021.
Atwin said she believes the move affected voting in a “big way,” but she hopes it led to a positive outcome. She says many people had questions, but she and her team worked to address their concerns.
“It’s been interesting, it’s been a different journey than what I was on in 2019,” said Atwin. ”But overwhelmingly, it was positive at the doors when people were asked me about the transition.”
Ginette Petitpas Taylor, the incumbent Liberal MP for Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe will also be returning to Ottawa.
The former social worker and victims services coordinator for Codiac RCMP was first elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019.
Petitpas Taylor says there’s still a lot of work to do surrounding the pandemic.
“That will continue to be our main priority,” she said. “I think that our platform has also been very clear – the issue of affordability, the issue of climate change and the issue of child care.”
Petitpas Taylor says during the campaign she heard a lot from young parents about the Liberal promise to deliver $10-per-day child care.
“We also have to look at the issue of labour force participation. If we want to see more people enter the labour force, we also have to make sure that they can afford to enter that labour force and early learning and child care is one of those priorities.”
With reporting by Aaron Sousa in Fredericton and Allan Dearing in Moncton.