The 2020 New Brunswick general election was held on September 14, 2020, to elect members of the 60th New Brunswick Legislature. The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick, led by Blaine Higgs, won a majority government.
The writs of election were issued by Lieutenant Governor Brenda Murphy on August 17, 2020, after a request was made by Premier Blaine Higgs to dissolve the legislature.
The election was scheduled to take place on October 17, 2022, as determined by the fixed-date provisions of the Legislative Assembly Act, which requires a general election to be held every four years on the third Monday in October. However, Premier Higgs called a snap election after negotiations failed with the other parties that would have avoided an election until the fixed date in 2022 or the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At 8:55 p.m. ADT, CBC News declared a Progressive Conservative majority government.
Background Aftermath of the 2018 election
The 2018 provincial election resulted in no party winning a majority of seats in the legislature for the first time since the 1920 provincial election. On election night, Blaine Higgs claimed victory for the Progressive Conservative Party, saying his team had received a mandate from New Brunswickers; however, Liberal Party leader and incumbent premier Brian Gallant stated his intention to remain in office with a minority government by securing support on a vote-by-vote basis. Over the following days, Lieutenant Governor Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau met with both leaders and gave permission to Gallant to continue in office and attempt to seek the confidence of the Legislative Assembly; while Higgs was told that if Gallant was unable to secure the confidence of the Assembly, Higgs would be called on to form government.
After the election, both Kris Austin of the People's Alliance and David Coon of the Green Party were noncommittal in their support. Gallant pursued a partnership with the Green Party and ruled out any arrangement with the Progressive Conservative Party or People's Alliance because Gallant did not believe that they shared the Liberal Party’s “values”. Higgs initially ruled out any formal agreements with other parties, but later said that a four-year agreement would be ideal for stability. On September 28, 2018, Austin agreed to support a Progressive Conservative minority government on a "bill-by-bill basis" for eighteen months, though no formal agreement was made.
On November 2, 2018, the Progressive Conservatives introduced a motion of no confidence in the Legislative Assembly, resulting in a 25–23 vote against the Liberals. Subsequently, Gallant resigned as Premier and recommended to the Lieutenant Governor that Higgs be given the opportunity to form government. Higgs' minority government was sworn into office on November 9, 2018.
On November 15, 2018, Gallant announced his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party. He was succeeded by Kevin Vickers on April 24, 2019.
Speculation of an early election
The PC minority government's seat total dropped to 20 after the death of MLA Greg Thompson on September 10, 2019 and the resignation of Deputy Premier Robert Gauvin on February 14, 2020. Gauvin's resignation came after the PC government announced health reforms, including the nightly closure of six hospital emergency rooms across the province as a cost reduction measure. Despite the Progressive Conservatives quickly backtracking on their proposals, the Liberals and the Greens said that they would not support the government at the next confidence vote, while the People's Alliance specifically did not rule out a vote of non-confidence. The next confidence vote was scheduled for March 20, 2020 to approve the PC government's proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year; however, by that time, the People's Alliance decided to continue supporting the government and Green MLAs were allowed to vote freely on the budget. Furthermore, after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, all parties decided to co-operate with each other—thus, avoiding a spring election.
By the summer, however, COVID-19 cases had stayed low for several weeks and Premier Blaine Higgs began to hint at the possibility of a fall election, arguing that stability was required for the next phase of the pandemic and economic recovery. The Progressive Conservatives carried out candidate riding nominations on August 8, 2020, continuing speculation of when an election might be called. On the following Monday, Higgs made an offer to the opposition parties to avoid an election until 2022 or the end of the pandemic; negotiations ultimately failed, however, and a snap election was called on August 17, 2020.
Summary of seat changes + Changes in seats held (2018–2020) Seat Before ChangeDateMemberPartyReasonDateMemberPartySaint Croix10 September 2019Greg ThompsonDeathShediac Bay-Dieppe7 October 2019Brian GallantResignationShippagan-Lamèque-Miscou14 February 2020Robert GauvinLeft the party
Results + Summary of the 2020 Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick electionPartyLeaderCandidatesVotesSeats # ± % Change (pp) 2018 2020 ±Blaine Higgs 49 147,790 26,490 39.34 225Kevin Vickers 49 129,025 14,766 34.35 214David Coon 47 57,252 12,066 15.24 3Kris Austin 36 34,526 13,334 9.19 31Mackenzie ThomasonInterim leader 33 6,220 12,819 1.66 9 685 2,136 0.18 -0.56Gerald Bourque 4 139 227 0.04 -0.06Total 227375,637 100.00% Rejected ballots 1,266 146 Turnout376,903 4,87266.14% 1.29 Registered voters569,862 18,809
Synopsis of results + 2020 New Brunswick general election - synopsis of riding results Riding Winning party Turnout Votes 2018 1st place Votes Share Margin# Margin% 2nd place PC Lib Green PA NDP KISS Total Albert PC PC 5,040 62.35% 3,984 49.28% Green 63.2% 5,040 921 1,056 977 – – 90 8,084 Bathurst East-Nepisiguit-Saint-Isidore Lib Lib 4,163 63.76% 2,595 39.75% PC 60.6% 1,568 4,163 798 – – – – 6,529 Bathurst West-Beresford Lib Lib 3,730 55.84% 1,745 26.12% PC 61.2% 1,985 3,730 965 – – – – 6,680 Campbellton-Dalhousie Lib Lib 4,540 65.20% 3,171 45.54% PC 63.6% 1,369 4,540 1,054 – – – – 6,963 Caraquet Lib Lib 5,928 72.27% 4,638 56.54% Green 75.1% 985 5,928 1,290 – – – – 8,203 Carleton PC PC 3,536 47.87% 1,627 22.03% PA 65.1% 3,536 1,239 581 1,909 80 41 – 7,386 Carleton-Victoria Lib PC 3,330 45.22% 391 5.31% Lib 63.5% 3,330 2,939 372 610 113 – – 7,364 Carleton-York PC PC 4,750 57.83% 3,226 39.27% PA 66.5% 4,750 940 890 1,524 110 – – 8,214 Dieppe Lib Lib 4,564 60.16% 2,884 38.02% PC 66.0% 1,680 4,564 1,142 – 200 – – 7,586 Edmundston-Madawaska Centre Lib Lib 5,236 74.47% 3,856 54.84% PC 62.7% 1,380 5,236 415 – – – – 7,031 Fredericton North Lib PC 3,227 41.13% 763 9.72% Green 66.3% 3,227 1,464 2,464 591 100 – – 7,846 Fredericton South Green Green 4,213 54.01% 1,871 23.98% PC 67.4% 2,342 895 4,213 234 117 – – 7,801 Fredericton West-Hanwell PC PC 4,726 52.88% 2,981 33.36% Green 70.5% 4,726 1,510 1,745 825 131 – – 8,937 Fredericton-Grand Lake PA PA 3,759 46.42% 1,280 15.81% PC 69.0% 2,479 749 1,005 3,759 87 18 – 8,097 Fredericton-York PA PC 3,730 42.41% 1,620 18.42% Green 69.0% 3,730 872 2,110 1,991 68 24 – 8,795 Fundy-The Isles-Saint John West PC PC 4,740 66.47% 4,014 56.29% Lib 61.8% 4,740 726 686 688 291 – – 7,131 Gagetown-Petitcodiac PC PC 4,773 59.09% 3,470 42.96% PA 67.3% 4,773 867 1,003 1,303 131 – – 8,077 Hampton PC PC 4,351 60.52% 3,267 45.44% Lib 60.2% 4,351 1,084 816 687 251 – – 7,189 Kent North Green Green 4,021 47.47% 1,088 12.84% Lib 68.3% 1,363 2,933 4,021 – – – 154 8,471 Kent South Lib Lib 5,148 55.22% 2,331 25.01% PC 73.9% 2,817 5,148 996 243 118 – – 9,322 Kings Centre PC PC 4,583 61.54% 3,577 48.03% Green 64.9% 4,583 911 1,006 693 254 – – 7,447 Madawaska Les Lacs-Edmundston Lib Lib 4,583 66.54% 2,820 40.94% PC 61.1% 1,763 4,583 542 – – – – 6,888 Memramcook-Tantramar Green Green 3,425 41.61% 523 6.35% Lib 67.1% 1,678 2,902 3,425 192 – – 34 8,231 Miramichi PA PA 3,527 45.11% 1,288 16.47% Lib 70.9% 1,508 2,239 398 3,527 92 – 54 7,818 Miramichi Bay-Neguac Lib Lib 3,561 43.56% 810 9.91% PC 67.7% 2,751 3,561 825 898 139 – – 8,174 Moncton Centre Lib Lib 2,448 38.91% 723 11.49% Green 58.4% 1,642 2,448 1,725 308 168 – – 6,291 Moncton East Lib PC 3,525 45.17% 766 9.82% Lib 62.3% 3,525 2,759 989 378 153 – – 7,804 Moncton Northwest PC PC 4,111 51.50% 1,663 20.83% Lib 62.6% 4,111 2,448 702 493 229 – – 7,983 Moncton South Lib PC 2,734 42.09% 768 11.82% Lib 57.9% 2,734 1,966 1,245 331 220 – – 6,496 Moncton Southwest PC PC 3,679 52.13% 2,118 30.01% Lib 57.8% 3,679 1,561 927 667 224 – – 7,058 New Maryland-Sunbury PC PC 5,342 57.76% 3,879 41.94% Green 67.7% 5,342 1,048 1,463 1,254 141 – – 9,248 Oromocto-Lincoln-Fredericton PC PC 3,374 44.25% 1,302 17.08% Lib 61.9% 3,374 2,072 1,306 745 127 – – 7,624 Portland-Simonds PC PC 3,170 55.10% 1,516 26.35% Lib 52.1% 3,170 1,654 483 282 164 – – 5,753 Quispamsis PC PC 5,697 68.11% 4,472 53.46% Lib 68.7% 5,697 1,225 528 414 501 – – 8,365 Restigouche West Lib Lib 5,022 62.15% 3,267 40.43% Green 70.2% 1,247 5,022 1,755 – – 56 – 8,080 Restigouche-Chaleur Lib Lib 3,823 55.66% 1,927 28.06% Green 61.8% 1,149 3,823 1,896 – – – – 6,868 Riverview PC PC 4,695 60.08% 3,414 43.69% Lib 65.0% 4,695 1,281 800 778 261 – – 7,815 Rothesay PC PC 4,265 61.28% 2,802 40.26% Lib 62.3% 4,265 1,463 719 413 – – 100 6,960 Saint Croix PC PC 3,570 45.18% 1,024 12.96% PA 64.7% 3,570 401 1,238 2,546 147 – – 7,902 Saint John East PC PC 3,507 56.36% 1,868 30.02% Lib 55.2% 3,507 1,639 394 434 248 – – 6,222 Saint John Harbour Lib PC 2,181 41.40% 957 18.17% Green 48.2% 2,181 1,207 1,224 186 309 – 161 5,268 Saint John Lancaster PC PC 3,560 54.24% 2,089 31.83% Lib 62.7% 3,560 1,471 938 394 201 – – 6,564 Shediac Bay-Dieppe Lib Lib 5,839 60.14% 2,868 29.54% PC 70.2% 2,971 5,839Robert Gauvin was previously elected as the PC MLA for Shippagan-Lamèque-Miscou. – 371 528 – – 9,709 Shediac-Beaubassin-Cap-Pelé Lib Lib 4,949 53.67% 2,496 27.07% Green 70.0% 1,820 4,949 2,453 – – – – 9,222 Shippagan-Lamèque-Miscou PC Lib 6,834 83.78% 6,120 75.03% PC 74.1% 714 6,834 609 – – – – 8,157 Southwest Miramichi-Bay du Vin PC PC 3,887 47.97% 1,619 19.98% PA 71.9% 3,887 1,760 – 2,268 188 – – 8,103 Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins PC PC 4,366 56.29% 3,045 39.26% PA 63.9% 4,366 971 969 1,321 129 – – 7,756 Tracadie-Sheila Lib Lib 6,175 69.55% 4,116 46.36% PC 74.6% 2,059 6,175 645 – – – – 8,879 Victoria-La Vallée Lib Lib 4,365 60.24% 2,294 31.66% PC 64.4% 2,071 4,365 426 292 – – 92 7,246
= Francophone-majority constituency = Open seat = Turnout is above provincial average = Winning candidate was in previous Legislature = Incumbent had switched allegiance = Previously incumbent in another riding = Not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature = Incumbency arose from byelection gain = Other incumbents renominated = Previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada = Multiple candidates
Incumbent MLAs who were defeated PartyNameRidingYear electedSeat held by party sinceDefeated byPartyLiberal Monique LeBlancMoncton East20142014Daniel AllainProgressive ConservativeStephen HorsmanFredericton North20142014Jill GreenAndrew HarveyCarleton-Victoria20142014Margaret JohnsonPeople's AllianceRick DeSaulniersFredericton-York20182018Ryan Cullins
Results by region