Gary Keating resigned for 'private reasons,' Brian Gallant says

Premier Brian Gallant is being tight-lipped about the reasons for the sudden resignation of newly elected Saint John East Liberal MLA Gary Keating, but says a byelection for the riding will be held "soon."

Keating announced his decision to step down on Tuesday, just 22 days after he won the tight race, and about a week before he was due to be sworn in.

In a written statement, Keating said he realized during the campaign how the long hours and travel would affect his family and health and apologized to his constituents.

Gallant declined Wednesday to provide any additional information, saying only that Keating's reasons are "quite private" and had nothing to do with him not being appointed a cabinet minister, or the party's position on abortion.

This is something we haven't seen very often, but I don't think that warrants the fact that we breach somebody's privacy and private life.- Premier Brian Gallant

"This is something we haven't seen very often, but I don't think that warrants the fact that we breach somebody's privacy and private life," Gallant told reporters.

"This is someone who released a statement to all New Brunswickers, apologizing to the people of Saint John East, citing that being an MLA would have a negative impact on his health and family. It's not every day that you hear that, either."

Gallant says he and MLA Victor Boudreau, who helped recruit Liberals to run, told candidates what the demands of the job would be.

"I've also had conversations with some people: what does this mean for my family? Where do I live? What does it mean for travel? To say Victor or I would have that conversation with everyone would be an overstatement, but to say that we didn't have it with anyone would be an understatement," he said.

"So whenever someone had concerns, we would certainly explain the best we possibly could the type of life a politician lives."

Gallant says the first he heard about Keating's decision was over the long weekend.

He hopes to call a byelection in Saint John East for before the first sitting of the legislature in early December, he said.

The byelection to fill Keating's seat must be held within the next six months.

'People need some answers'

Blaine Harris, president of the New Brunswick Liberal Party's Saint John Lancaster riding association, says Liberals across the city are baffled by Keating's resignation.

"Gary's an honest man, he's a good man," said Harris. "I think he really needs to come and tell the public wholeheartedly — not just a written statement.  People need some answers. They have questions, they need answers," he said.

Keating won the Saint John East riding by nine votes following a judicial recount, making it the closest of the 49 races in the Sept. 22 election.

It was the second time Keating ran for the position.

The seat is important for Gallant's Liberals for its geography. Saint John East was one of only three ridings that the party won in Saint John.

JP Lewis, an assistant professor of political science at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, said he believes Keating has created an “unprecedented” situation of a resignation less than a month after a general election.

Often when a politician resigns so early in a mandate, it is because they are stepping away so a leader can run in a safe riding.

“We already thought this was an unusual election to begin with, and now this, the fact that it is not a safe seat, the fact that the Liberals, you would guess, would really like to win this seat not only because they already had it but again in the future to possibly have someone who could be in cabinet from the Saint John area,” Lewis said.

The UNB political scientist said how Gallant handles this unexpected development will be an early political test of his leadership skills.

”It will be fascinating to see how he responds,” said Lewis.

Keating's resignation leaves the legislature with 26 Liberals, 21 Tories and a single Green MLA.

Even if Liberal Chris Collins is elected Speaker, the Gallant government will have a four-seat majority.

“It would be very difficult for the government to fall accidentally because of not having enough people up in Fredericton,” Lewis said.

Tories demand byelection

On Wednesday, Jason Stephen, the president of the Progressive Conservative Party, said in a statement that a byelection should be called immediately.

"An immediate byelection is necessary to give Saint John East residents their voice and vote in the legislature," Stephen said.

He said the Tories are ready to campaign now.

It is unlikely that the byelection would be called between mid-December and mid-January because of the need to campaign over the holidays.

Byelections in the first half of a government’s mandate tend to favour the party in power. Bernard Lord’s Progressive Conservatives picked up Campbellton, Caraquet and Kent South in 2001, which had been won by the Liberals in 1999.

Shawn Graham’s Liberals won Lord’s Moncton East seat in 2007, after the former premier resigned.

Lewis said new governments often enjoy a honeymoon period, but it’s unclear whether the Liberals will face a backlash because their candidate triggered a byelection.

“It will be fascinating to see how the parties campaign and how the voters react to that. If they voted Liberal, they could be picking a cabinet minister who could be sworn in in a few years,” Lewis said.

The last byelection held in New Brunswick saw Brian Gallant win in Kent in 2013. Elections New Brunswick said that byelection cost just more than $120,000, which included all election expenses, including reimbursement of candidate expenses.