Holt's historic N.B. win also sees record number of women, several francophones elected

New Brunswick's election outcome is historic, not only because Liberal Leader Susan Holt became the first woman in the province to win the premier's job but also because of the number of women and French-speaking candidates elected.

There will be a record 17 women in the legislative assembly — 10 Liberals, six Progressive Conservatives and one Green.

That's 34 per cent of members, up from 14 women in 2020, 11 in 2018 and only eight in 2014.

More francophone and bilingual candidates were also elected in the only officially bilingual province in Canada.

Among the Liberals, 19 of the 31 MLAs are francophone, while a number of others are bilingual, including premier-designate Holt.

"This is a historic moment for me and for all the little girls in the room who can dream and know that this is not an impossible goal," Holt, 47, told a large crowd of supporters in Fredericton Monday evening as her three young daughters looked on.

Her majority-government win over outgoing Progressive Conservative premier Blaine Higgs comes just two years after she became the first woman to win the New Brunswick Liberal leadership and 18 months after she was elected to the legislature in a byelection.

"I didn't know it would be me that would be achieving this," she told CBC on Tuesday. 

"But I've been wanting to see women leadership in our province, like in so many other provinces across Canada and around the world.

"So I'm humbled that I have this honour and this opportunity."

Credits trailblazers

During her bilingual acceptance speech, Holt paid tribute to the trailblazing women who came before her, including Brenda Robertson, the first woman elected to the New Brunswick Legislature in 1967 and the first woman to serve in cabinet; Shirley Dysart, the first woman to serve as the leader of a political party in New Brunswick when she was appointed interim leader of the Liberals in 1985 and the first female Speaker; and Elizabeth Weir, the first elected female leader of a political party in New Brunswick, serving as NDP leader from 1988 to 2005.

Holt also singled out Aldéa Landry, the first Acadian woman named to New Brunswick cabinet in 1987 and first female deputy premier in Frank McKenna's Liberal government.

Landry had tears in her eyes as she watched Holt win.

"The hope, the pride, the emotion, the tears. … It's extraordinary," she said.

Isabelle Thériault, the Liberal MLA for Caraquet, said she's proud the number of women in her caucus had tripled.

"There were only three of us women, now there will be 10 of us. We have several initiatives related to the condition and health of women. I am so excited to be able to make a positive difference for women. It is such a great accomplishment," she said in French.

Major milestone

According to the president of the Regroupement féministe du Nouveau-Brunswick, Geneviève Louise Latour, it's a major milestone.

"What happened [Monday night] has a super important symbolic weight. It has a power," she said.

"At the same time, I don't delude myself, there are still glass ceilings to break, but it was a giant step forward."

Parity in the number of male and female MLAs has not yet been achieved and there are still several obstacles to overcome to attract more women and people from gender minorities into politics, noted Latour.

Holt could also face backlash as a powerful woman in a "boys' club" environment, she said.

Seeks to unify

Holt says she wants to govern in a unifying way, particularly with regard to linguistic differences.

'We want to bring everyone together, like good neighbours," said Holt, who credits New Brunswick's early immersion in large part for her bilingualism.

People "don't want to be divided by language [and] want a government that shows them respect."

After six years of leading the province, Higgs still does not speak French, despite his repeated promises to learn the language.

After the departure of ministers Robert Gauvin, Dominic Cardy and Daniel Allain, the only bilingual members of the Tory caucus left were Minister of Local Government, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for la Francophonie Glen Savoie, Education Minister Bill Hogan and MLA Réjean Savoie.

Hogan admits his party missed opportunities to get closer to the French-speaking and Acadian community.

"There are a lot of things that need to be done in the Progressive Conservative Party to tell these citizens that they are important to us," he said in an interview Tuesday.

French speakers make up a third of the province's population, said Roger Ouellette, a political science professor at the University of Moncton.

The fact Higgs was "unable to reach this population" and still obtain a majority government is an anomaly, he said.

Ouellette believes Holt's unifying strategy has borne fruit.

"The Liberals were able to reach out to francophones, Indigenous peoples, sexual minorities. We have a premier who is fortunate to want to bring the entire province together and, I would say, move toward social peace."

Among her 100 election commitments, which focus largely on health-care, education and cost-of-living challenges, Holt has pledged to appoint a deputy minister to head the Official Languages ​​Secretariat, created last year in response to the 2021 review of the Official Languages Act.

In a news release, the Société de l'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick welcomed the election of the Liberal Party.

"We look forward to working with the new government team and strengthening the rights of the Acadian and francophone population of our province," president Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter said in a statement.