New Brunswick NDP holds summit to take lessons from N.S. election win
The New Brunswick New Democratic Party is meeting this weekend to discuss what lessons can be gleaned from the success of its counterpart in Tuesday's Nova Scotia election.
The NDP, led by Darrell Dexter, was elected in 31 of the Nova Scotia's 52 seats, making Dexter Atlantic Canada's first-ever NDP premier.
New Brunswick's NDP, meanwhile, suffered its worst electoral showing in terms of public support in 2006 and have not held a seat in the legislature since former leader Elizabeth Weir left in 2005.
Tom Mann, the executive director of the New Brunswick Union and a longtime NDP supporter, said the party is struggling against a "political elite" in the province.
"We have to start working with everybody and not allow the political elite to run the province," he said. "And not allow New Brunswickers to be influenced by an old, tired regime."
The executive director of the NDP said the party had observers with candidates in the Nova Scotia election. They'll meet with other party members on Sunday to discuss the lessons learned.
The New Brunswick NDP will hold a convention this fall to start planning for the 2010 election campaign.
Party still overshadowed by Weir
Weir was the NDP's only MLA from 1991 until her retirement. Although she was personally popular across New Brunswick, she was never able to translate that support into additional seatmates inside the legislative assembly.
When Allison Brewer took over as the NDP leader, she struggled to gain traction with the electorate. The party earned only 5.1 per cent of the vote in 2006, the worst result since 1974, and Brewer finished third in her own riding.
The NDP elected Roger Duguay, a former Catholic priest, as the party's leader in 2007.
Even though the NDP has had two leaders since Weir, one veteran political observer said they still have defined a new identity.
Jack MacDougall, a former executive director of the Liberal party who switched to work for the Green party in the last federal election, said the NDP still has to contend with the overshadowing success of Weir.
"She was paralyzed by just the success of herself. She could have stayed there for as long as she wanted, but could never seem to get a breakthrough beyond that," MacDougall said.