53rd New Brunswick Legislature

The 53rd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly was created following a general election in 1995 and was dissolved on May 8, 1999.

Rendition of party representation in the 53rd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, at its first session after the 1995 election.

  Liberals (48)

  Progressive Conservatives (6)

  New Democrats (1)

Leadership

The speaker from its first meeting until July 21, 1997, was Danny Gay, Gay resigned the speakership to join the cabinet. John McKay was elected to succeed Gay as speaker later in the session.

Premier Frank McKenna led the government from the beginning of the assembly until he resigned on October 12, 1997. He was succeeded as Premier by Ray Frenette who served as interim leader of McKenna's Liberals until Camille Thériault was elected as permanent leader. Thériault led the government as Premier from May 14, 1998

The opposition was led from the forming of the assembly until 1997 by Bernard Valcourt, then by Elvy Robichaud who served as parliamentary leader of the Progressive Conservatives until Bernard Lord, who succeeded Valcourt as PC leader in 1997, gained a seat in 1998.

Elizabeth Weir led the third party New Democrats for the life of the assembly.

Members

All were elected in the 33rd general election held on September 11, 1995, except for James Doyle and Peter Mesheau, elected in by-elections on November 17, 1997, and Shawn Graham, Brad Green and Bernard Lord elected in by-elections on October 19, 1998. Albert Doucet was removed from the Liberal cabinet on February 5, 1997[1] and then was removed from caucus in March of that year, sitting as an independent until January 30, 1998[2] when he was accepted back into the Liberal fold.

Members at dissolution

	Eric Allaby	Liberal	Fundy Isles
	LeRoy Armstrong	Liberal	Kings East
	Jane Barry	Liberal	Saint John Lancaster
	Edmond Blanchard	Liberal	Campbellton
	Vaughn Blaney	Liberal	Oromocto-Gagetown
	Ann Breault	Liberal	Western Charlotte
	Greg Byrne	Liberal	Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak
	Georgie Day	Liberal	Hampton-Belleisle
	Carolle de Ste. Croix	Liberal	Dalhousie-Restigouche East
	Jean-Camille DeGrâce	Liberal	Lamèque-Shippagan-Miscou
	Gene Devereux	Liberal	Moncton North
	Albert Doucet	Liberal	Nigadoo-Chaleur
	Harry Doyle	Liberal	Albert
	James Doyle	Liberal	Miramichi-Bay du Vin
	Paul Duffie	Liberal	Grand Falls Region
	John Flynn	Liberal	York
	Danny Gay	Liberal	Miramichi Bay
	Dale Graham	Progressive Conservative	Carleton
	Shawn Graham	Liberal	Kent
	Brad Green	Progressive Conservative	Fredericton South
	Stuart Jamieson	Liberal	Saint John-Fundy
	Laureen Jarrett	Liberal	Saint John-Kings
	Kenneth Johnson	Liberal	Rogersville-Kouchibouguac
	Al Kavanaugh	Liberal	Riverview
	Larry Kennedy	Liberal	Victoria-Tobique
	Joan Kingston	Liberal	New Maryland
	Alban Landry	Liberal	Nepisiguit
	Denis Landry	Liberal	Centre-Péninsule
	Peter LeBlanc	Liberal	Kennebecasis
	Sheldon Lee	Liberal	Charlotte
	James E. Lockyer	Liberal	Moncton South
	Bernard Lord	Progressive Conservative	Moncton East
	Reg MacDonald	Liberal	Southwest Miramichi
	Roly MacIntyre	Liberal	Saint John Champlain
	John McKay†	Liberal	Miramichi Centre
	Ken MacLeod	Liberal	Moncton Crescent
	Leo McAdam	Liberal	Saint John Portland
	Marcelle Mersereau	Liberal	Bathurst
	Peter Mesheau	Progressive Conservative	Tantramar
	Percy Mockler	Progressive Conservative	Madawaska-la-Vallée
	Greg O'Donnell	Liberal	Dieppe-Memramcook
	David Olmstead	Liberal	Mactaquac
	Bernard Richard	Liberal	Shediac-Cap-Pélé
	Elvy Robichaud	Progressive Conservative	Tracadie-Sheila
	Jean-Paul Savoie	Liberal	Restigouche West
	Milt Sherwood	Progressive Conservative	Grand Bay-Westfield
	Bruce Smith	Liberal	Woodstock
	Hollis Steeves	Liberal	Petitcodiac
	Camille Thériault	Liberal	Kent South
	Bernard Thériault	Liberal	Caraquet
	Doug Tyler	Liberal	Grand Lake
	Bernard Valcourt	Progressive Conservative	Edmundston
	Jeannot Volpé	Progressive Conservative	Madawaska-les-Lacs
	Elizabeth Weir	New Democratic	Saint John Harbour
	Jim Wilson	Liberal	Fredericton North

Bold denotes a member of the cabinet.
Italics denotes a party leader
† denotes the Speaker

Former members

• Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, a Liberal, was first elected to the legislature in the 1987 election, she resigned in 1997 to accept an appointment as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick.
• Frank McKenna, a Liberal, was first elected to the legislature in the 1982 election, he resigned in 1997 in conjunction with his resignation as Premier.
• Ray Frenette, a Liberal, was first elected to the legislature in the 1974 election, he resigned in 1998 following his resignation as Premier.
• Alan Graham, a Liberal, was first elected to the legislature in the 1967 election, he resigned in 1998 after retiring from the cabinet.
• Russell King, a Liberal, was first elected to the legislature in the 1987 election, he resigned in 1998 after retiring from the cabinet.

See also

• 1995 New Brunswick general election
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

References

• Elections in New Brunswick 1984–2006, Elections New Brunswick (pdf)

1. Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick - Journals. Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. February 5, 1997.
2. Porter-Staff, Tim. (January 30, 1998.) "Doucet back on Liberal side: Rebel MLA returns to flock". Daily Gleaner. Retrieved June 7, 2011, from Canadian Newsstand Atlantic. (Document ID: 1572761801).