Progressive Conservative leadership race may see 6th candidate

The race for the leadership of New Brunswick's Progressive Conservative Party may soon become even more crowded.

Former PC MP and MLA Jean Dubé says he's "seriously thinking about" joining the race, which already has five candidates.

"I have something to offer the province of New Brunswick," he said, citing his experience in the House of Commons and the provincial legislature.

"And also, being able to communicate with people no matter where they are … in English and also in French."

Dubé was elected the MP for Madawaska-Restigouche in 1997 and was defeated in 2000. He was then elected MLA for Campbellton in a 2001 byelection, losing the seat in the 2003 provincial election.

4 satellite polls too far, fee too much

He said he thinks he would be a good leader for the Tories, but said he'd like to see the organization change some of the leadership race rules, including the locations of polling stations for members and the increased voting fee of $40.

He said the four satellite voting stations in St. Leonard, Bathurst, Moncton and Saint John will make it too far for some PC members to travel to vote.

Members will also be able to vote at the central convention location in Fredericton.

"They've excluded Restigouche County, they've excluded the Acadian Peninsula, and they've excluded Miramichi," said Dubé, who now lives in Dieppe but says a lot of his support would come from the north.

Members from places like St. Stephen and Sussex will also face long drives, he said.

He also said the fee will make it too expensive for some Tories to vote, something he calls "ludicrous" when the party needs to reach out to more people.

"There's mistakes that have been made here. I think they're correctable, we can correct those, and I think we should correct them as well," he said.

Too late to change rules

But Jason Stephen, the PC Party president, said it's too late to change the rules.

"We have five announced candidates that have all announced on the premise of the rules we adopted in January," he pointed out.

Stephen noted the last two PC leadership races have also featured one central convention and four satellite polls.

He also said raising the voting fee to $40 makes it tax-deductible, which means PC members will end up paying less in the end than they did in the last race, when it was $25.

He said leadership votes are expensive to stage and the fee will help cover the cost.

But Dubé contends many members won't have the money to pay the fee upfront and wait for their tax deduction.

He said his decision on whether to run will hinge in part on whether the party changes the rules.

"It's certainly going to weigh," he said. "I'm not going there to be in second place. I'm going there to win, and an important part of that would be the support I have in northern New Brunswick."

The declared candidates in the race are MLAs Brian Macdonald and Blaine Higgs, former MP Mike Allen, outgoing Saint John mayor Mel Norton, and Moncton lawyer Monica Barley. PC MLA Jake Stewart has scheduled a leadership announcement for May 26.

The leadership vote is scheduled for Oct. 22.