N.B. election sees 8 female MLAs elected in 49 ridings

New Brunswick has eight female MLAs in the province's newly distributed 49 ridings, following Monday night's provincial election.

That represents about 16 per cent of the legislative assembly.

​The province's last sitting legislative assembly, elected in 2010, also had eight female MLAs but out of 55 ridings, or about 14.5 per cent, earning New Brunswick the dubious honour of having the fewest female MLAs in the country. Former energy minister Margaret-Ann Blaney subsequently resigned her Rothesay seat in May 2012 to become chief executive officer of Efficiency New Brunswick.

The eight newly elected women are evenly split between the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives.

In the Moncton area, three of the five MLAs are women.

The Liberals and Tories each had 13 women running across the province.

2 cabinet ministers unseated

Tory Madeleine Dubé, who was the minister of social development before the legislative assembly was dissolved on Aug. 21, managed to hold on to her seat in Edmundston Madawaska Centre.

Dorothy Shephard, who was the minister of health​y and inclusive communities, also claimed victory in her riding of Saint John Lancaster.

MLAs Pam Lynch and Sherry Wilson were also re-elected, in  Fredericton-Grand Lake and Moncton Southwest, respectively.

Marie-Claude Blais, the former minister of education and early childhood development and minister responsible for women's equality, was unseated in Moncton Centre.

Sue Stultz, the former minister of government services, responsible for Service New Brunswick and the New Brunswick Internal Services Agency, was also unseated, in Moncton South.

Tory MLA Martine Coulombe lost in her bid to be re-elected in her riding of Restigouche West.

The successful Liberal female candidates include:

• Lisa Harris in Miramichi Bay-Neguac.

• Francine Landry in Madawaska Les Lacs-Edmundston​.

• Monique Leblanc from Moncton East.

• Cathy Rogers from Moncton-South.

The NDP had 14 women vying for seats in the election. None were successful.

Of the Green Party's 36 candidates, 19 were women, and the People's Alliance had five female candidates out of 15, but none of them managed to win.

Gretchen Kelbaugh, a filmmaker who has documented the lack of women in politics, has previously suggested it may be time to impose a quota system to ensure more women run.

Such systems are already in place in Germany, Norway and Switzerland, she said.