On Monday night, New Brunswick made history by electing the leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick to the Legislative Assembly. The people also elected a Liberal majority government that previously called for a shale gas moratorium. The new Premier, Brian Gallant, is 32 years old and his election represents a takeover by a new generation, regardless of whether we agree with his policies.
During the campaign, David Coon presented a progressive agenda on both environmental and social issues. He stood his ground on abortion rights, free schooling and the banning of new oil infrastructure such as the Eastern Energy Pipeline and hydraulic fracturing.
Having only existed in two provincial elections, Green Party of New Brunswick succeeded in surpassing the NDP in terms of number of seats. It held a much more progressive discourse, while Dominic Cardy’s NDP was obsessed with debt reduction and hesitated to speak out on important campaign issues such as shale gas exploitation.
Congratulations to David Coon and his entire team who worked very hard in this election. Congratulations to Carmen Budilean, Vice-President of the Green Party of Quebec, who played an important role in this election and that of the GPQ last April.
Alex Tyrrell
Leader of the Green Party of Quebec
