New Brunswick New Democratic Party
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| New Brunswick New Democratic Party | |
|---|---|
| Active Provincial Party | |
| Founded | 1962 |
| Leader | Roger Duguay |
| President | Pat Hanratty |
| Headquarters | 618 Queen St Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 1C2 |
| Political ideology | Social Democracy / Democratic Socialism |
| International alignment | Socialist International |
| Colours | Orange |
| Website | http://www.ndp-npd.nb.ca |
The New Brunswick New Democratic Party (French: Nouveau Parti démocratique du Nouveau-Brunswick) is a social democratic political party in New Brunswick, Canada, that is linked with the federal New Democratic Party.
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[edit] Origins and early history
The New Brunswick NDP traces its roots to the Fredericton Socialist League, which was founded in 1902. The League had branches throughout the province by World War I.
In 1933, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, a federal political party, was formed with the proclamation of the Regina Manifesto. In 1933, the Moncton Trades and Labour Council adopted a resolution to create a branch of the CCF in New Brunswick. This led to the creation of the New Brunswick CCF that year.
Despite its early formation, the New Brunswick CCF was slow at establishing itself on the provincial political scene. It ran only one candidate in the 1939 election, in the riding of Saint John City. The fortunes of the NB CCF rose in tandem with the fortunes of the national CCF during World War II. In 1944 the CCF won 11.7 percent of the vote. This proved to be a high-point for CCF strength in New Brunswick however. A combination of anti-CCF propaganda, the increasing adoption of somewhat progressive policies by the Liberals and Tories, and a general trend of post-war decline for the CCF nationally all contributed to weaken the New Brunswick CCF. The CCF ran no candidates in the 1956 and 1960 provincial elections.
In 1961, the CCF merged with the labour movement to form the New Democratic Party at both federal and provincial levels. The New Brunswick NDP was formed in 1962.
In 1971, the New Brunswick NDP was taken over by the Waffle, a radical wing of the party. The federal NDP responded by temporarily dissolving the provincial wing until non-Waffle leadership was re-established.
[edit] Recent history
In 1982, the party won its first seat in the Legislative Assembly since its inception as the CCF. Although it won a second seat in a 1984 by-election, it has been unable to win more than one seat in the provincial legislature in a general election in the subsequent twenty years.
Elizabeth Weir was elected leader in 1988. Between 1991 and 2005 she was the party's only member in the legislature. On October 8, 2004, she announced her resignation as leader of the party. A year later, on October 13, 2005, she resigned her seat in the riding of Saint John Harbour when Premier Bernard Lord named her to be the president of the new Energy Efficiency and Conservation Agency of New Brunswick.
In 1997, for the first time, federal NDP Members of Parliaments were elected from New Brunswick. (The CCF had not been successful in that arena either.) Both MPs, Yvon Godin and Angela Vautour, were elected in Acadian areas of the province. Before the 2000 election, however, Vautour left the NDP caucus to sit with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Vautour ran as a PC candidate in 2000, and lost. Godin was re-elected as an NDP member in 2000, 2004, and 2006.
However, the provincial NDP has not successfully capitalized on the federal party's inroads in the region, and failed to win any seats in the area in the 2003 provincial election. At the party's leadership convention on September 25, 2005, Allison Brewer was elected to replace Elizabeth Weir who had been leader since 1988. However, Brewer failed to win a seat in the 2006 general election and subsequently resigned. Party president Pat Hanratty was announced as interim leader until the leadership convention on October 13, 2007, where Roger Duguay was selected as the party's new leader.
[edit] Leaders of the New Brunswick NDP
- Jack Currie, 1965-1968
- post vacant, 1968-1970
- J. Albert Richardson, 1970-1971
- Pat Callaghan, 1971 (Waffle faction leader)
- J. Albert Richardson, 1971-1976
- John LaBossiere, 1976-1980
- George Little 1980-1988
- Elizabeth Weir 1988-2005
- Allison Brewer 2005-2006
- Pat Hanratty (interim) 2006-2007
- Roger Duguay 2007-present
[edit] Historic Election Results
Popular Vote
- 1967 - 0.3%
- 1970 - 2.8%
- 1974 - 2.9%
- 1978 - 6.5%
- 1982 - 10.2%
- 1987 - 10.6%
- 1991 - 10.8%
- 1995 - 9.7%
- 1999 - 8.8%
- 2003 - 9.7%
- 2006 - 5.1%
[edit] Candidates in Provincial Elections
number of NDP candidates/number of Legislative seats
- 1967 - 3/58
- 1970 - 31/58
- 1974 - 35/58
- 1978 - 36/58
- 1982 - 54/58
- 1987 - 58/58
- 1991 - 58/58
- 1995 - 55/55
- 1999 - 55/55
- 2003 - 55/55
- 2006 - 48/55
[edit] NDP members of the NB Legislative Assembly
There are currently no New Democrats in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. In the past, three separate individuals have been elected as New Democrats and they are as follows:
- Bob Hall, Tantramar; 1982 to his defeat in the 1987 election
- Peter Trites, East Saint John; 1984 by-election until joining the Liberals in 1987
- Elizabeth Weir, Saint John South (1991-1995), Saint John Harbour (1995-2005); 1991 to 2005
The NDP's predecessor, the CCF never won a seat in the New Brunswick legislature. In the 1920 general election nine United Farmers and two Farmer-Labour MLAs were elected.
[edit] See also
- List of New Brunswick political parties
- New Brunswick New Democratic Party leadership election, 2005
- New Brunswick New Democratic Party leadership election, 2007
[edit] External links
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