null | Posted: July 28, 2014 2:49 PM | Last Updated: September 3, 2014
Riding 16
Riding profile
The riding of Memramcook-Tantramar is located in southeastern New Brunswick. The riding makes up the predominantly francophone area around the Village of Memramcook and the largely anglophone area around the Town of Sackville.
The riding includes 46 different towns, villages, First Nations and local service districts.
Sackville has a higher median income than the provincial average. The town is home to Mount Allison University, a popular liberal arts university, and it also has a local hospital.
In Memramcook, the economy is largely driven by the agriculture industry, construction and manufacturing.
The federal Dorchester Penitentiary is also located in the riding.
About these charts
This demographic information is from Statistics Canada's 2011 census. The New Brunswick provincial average for mother tongue is 34 per cent French, 63 per cent English, and three per cent other. On average, the New Brunswick electorate is distributed in four different kinds of areas. Thirty-six per cent live in a city, 32 per cent in a non-municipality, 30 per cent in a municipality, and two per cent in a rural area.
Political history
The riding of Memramcook-Tantramar is a merger between portions of the former Memramcook-Lakeville-Dieppe riding and the Tantramar riding.
The merger of these two ridings proved to be extremely controversial and provoked legal action by disgruntled citizens. Francophones in Memramcook are arguing they have been transferred into a predominantly anglophone riding even though the village has always been in a francophone riding. The citizens argue the Electoral Boundaries and Representation Commission focused too much on balancing the ridings in terms of voters and not on the linguistic composition of the ridings. In its report, the commission said, “The Commission heard no convincing evidence that positioning Memramcook in a majority anglophone riding would lead to its cultural assimilation, particularly given its history, cultural institutions, and relative proximity to the province’s largest francophone city.”
Liberal Bernard LeBlanc was re-elected in Memramcook-Lakeville-Dieppe in 2010. He was first elected in 2006. He served as the minister of justice and then the minister of local government. He resigned in 2010 after a letter sent out in his name allegedly violated the privacy of a Fredericton-area woman. Prior to jumping into provincial politics, he was the mayor of Memramcook from 1996 to 2001.
Progressive Conservative Mike Olscamp was re-elected in 2010. He was first elected in 2006. Olscamp is the minister agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries. Olscamp succeeded Progressive Conservative Peter Mesheau as the Tantramar MLA. Mesheau, who served in various cabinet positions, such as finance and investments and exports, was first elected in a 1997 byelection and re-elected in 1999 and 2003.
2010 Provincial election results
Memramcook-Lakeville-Dieppe
| Party | Candidate | Total Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Bernard LeBlanc | 3,423 |
| Progressive Conservative | Fortunat Duguay | 2,171 |
| NDP | Denis Brun | 708 |
| Green Party | Fanny LeBlanc | 433 |
Tantramar
| Party | Candidate | Total Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Beth Barczyk | 906 |
| Progressive Conservative | Mike Olscamp | 2,707 |
| NDP | Bill Evans | 511 |
| Green Party | Margaret Tusz-King | 622 |
2014 Candidates
| Party | Candidate |
|---|---|
| Liberal | Bernard LeBlanc |
| Progressive Conservative | Michael Olscamp |
| NDP | Helene Boudreau |
| Green Party | Megan Mitton |