New Brunswick general election, 1963
Encyclopedia
45th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly
The 45th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly represented New Brunswick between May 28, 1963 and September 8, 1967.Joseph Leonard O'Brien was Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick in 1963. He was succeeded by John Babbitt McNair in 1965....
, the governing house of the province
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The election was called by surprise by Liberal
New Brunswick Liberal Association
The New Brunswick Liberal Association , more popularly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major political parties in the Canadian province of New Brunswick...
Premier Louis Robichaud
Louis Robichaud
Louis Joseph Robichaud, PC, CC, QC , popularly known as "Little Louis" or "P'tit-Louis" , was a Canadian lawyer and politician...
. The Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick
The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of responsible government to the colony...
, under leader Cy Sherwood, had accused the Liberals of corruption for allowing an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
company, Cartiere del Timavo, to construct a paper mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
in Newcastle
Newcastle, New Brunswick
Newcastle is a Canadian urban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick.Prior to municipal amalgamation in 1995, it was an incorporated town and the shire town of Northumberland County....
, and grant it rights to Crown land
Crown land
In Commonwealth realms, Crown land is an area belonging to the monarch , the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it....
over other companies. The Tories also claimed that Lieutenant-Governor Leonard O'Brien
Leonard O'Brien
Leonard Francis "Mike" O'Brien was an American field hockey player who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics and 1936 Summer Olympics.He was born in North Adams, Massachusetts and died in Boston, Massachusetts....
had sold land to the company. Robichaud made a quick decision to call an election amidst these accusations.
Analysts had wondered why Robichaud decided to call the election only two and a half years into his mandate over what they thought was a small issue. Several of his projects, such as tax reform and an overhaul of post-secondary education (which eventually led to the creation of the Université de Moncton
Université de Moncton
The Université de Moncton is a French language university located in Moncton, New Brunswick serving the Acadian community of Atlantic Canada...
and the University of New Brunswick at Saint John), died in the legislature. However, Robichaud later said that he held the election when his popularity was at its height and the Conservatives were weak.
Robichaud campaigned on a platform of economic development and encouragement of outside investment in the province. Cartiere del Timavo threatened to cancel the project if the Liberals lost the election. Many voters perceived Sherwood as too timid in his attacks on the Liberals on the campaign trail, as compared to his vigorous speeches in the Legislature.
The campaign coincided with a federal election
Canadian federal election, 1963
The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in...
, which was held two weeks earlier. That election saw the Conservatives of John Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
defeated by the Liberals of Lester Pearson. Robichaud then used the Liberal victory nationally as leverage provincially, promising New Brunswick would receive better treatment from the federal government with the same party in power.
On election day, the Liberals were re-elected with an increased majority of one seat over the 1960 election
New Brunswick general election, 1960
The 24th New Brunswick general election was held on June 27, 1960, to elect 52 members to the 44th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. New Brunswick general election, 1960 Name Seats...
.
| New Brunswick general election, 1963 | ||
| Name | Seats | Pop Vote |
| New Brunswick Liberal Association New Brunswick Liberal Association The New Brunswick Liberal Association , more popularly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major political parties in the Canadian province of New Brunswick... | 32 | 51.8% |
| Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of responsible government to the colony... | 20 | 48.2% |