53rd New Brunswick Legislature

Rendition of party representation in the 53rd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, at its first session after the 1995 election.
  Liberals (48)

  Progressive Conservatives (6)

  New Democrats (1)

The 53rd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly was created following a general election in 1995 and was dissolved on May 8, 1999.

Leadership

The speaker from its first meeting until July 21, 1997, was Danny Gay, Gay resigned the speakership to join the cabinet. John McKay was elected to succeed Gay as speaker later in the session.

Premier Frank McKenna led the government from the beginning of the assembly until he resigned on October 12, 1997. He was succeeded as Premier by Ray Frenette who served as interim leader of McKenna's Liberals until Camille Thériault was elected as permanent leader. Thériault led the government as Premier from May 14, 1998

The opposition was led from the forming of the assembly until 1997 by Bernard Valcourt, then by Elvy Robichaud who served as parliamentary leader of the Progressive Conservatives until Bernard Lord, who succeeded Valcourt as PC leader in 1997, gained a seat in 1998.

Elizabeth Weir led the third party New Democrats for the life of the assembly.

Members

All were elected in the 33rd general election held on September 11, 1995, except for James Doyle and Peter Mesheau, elected in by-elections on November 17, 1997, and Shawn Graham, Brad Green and Bernard Lord elected in by-elections on October 19, 1998. Albert Doucet was removed from the Liberal cabinet on February 5, 1997^[1] and then was removed from caucus in March of that year, sitting as an independent until January 30, 1998^[2] when he was accepted back into the Liberal fold.

Members at dissolution

Electoral District	Name	Party
Eric Allaby	Liberal	Fundy Isles
LeRoy Armstrong	Liberal	Kings East
Jane Barry	Liberal	Saint John Lancaster
Edmond Blanchard	Liberal	Campbellton
Vaughn Blaney	Liberal	Oromocto-Gagetown
Ann Breault	Liberal	Western Charlotte
Greg Byrne	Liberal	Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak
Georgie Day	Liberal	Hampton-Belleisle
Carolle de Ste. Croix	Liberal	Dalhousie-Restigouche East
Jean-Camille DeGrâce	Liberal	Lamèque-Shippagan-Miscou
Gene Devereux	Liberal	Moncton North
Albert Doucet	Liberal	Nigadoo-Chaleur
Harry Doyle	Liberal	Albert
James Doyle	Liberal	Miramichi-Bay du Vin
Paul Duffie	Liberal	Grand Falls Region
John Flynn	Liberal	York
Danny Gay	Liberal	Miramichi Bay
Dale Graham	Progressive Conservative	Carleton
Shawn Graham	Liberal	Kent
Brad Green	Progressive Conservative	Fredericton South
Stuart Jamieson	Liberal	Saint John-Fundy
Laureen Jarrett	Liberal	Saint John-Kings
Kenneth Johnson	Liberal	Rogersville-Kouchibouguac
Al Kavanaugh	Liberal	Riverview
Larry Kennedy	Liberal	Victoria-Tobique
Joan Kingston	Liberal	New Maryland
Alban Landry	Liberal	Nepisiguit
Denis Landry	Liberal	Centre-Péninsule
Peter LeBlanc	Liberal	Kennebecasis
Sheldon Lee	Liberal	Charlotte
James E. Lockyer	Liberal	Moncton South
Bernard Lord	Progressive Conservative	Moncton East
Reg MacDonald	Liberal	Southwest Miramichi
Roly MacIntyre	Liberal	Saint John Champlain
John McKay†	Liberal	Miramichi Centre
Ken MacLeod	Liberal	Moncton Crescent
Leo McAdam	Liberal	Saint John Portland
Marcelle Mersereau	Liberal	Bathurst
Peter Mesheau	Progressive Conservative	Tantramar
Percy Mockler	Progressive Conservative	Madawaska-la-Vallée
Greg O'Donnell	Liberal	Dieppe-Memramcook
David Olmstead	Liberal	Mactaquac
Bernard Richard	Liberal	Shediac-Cap-Pélé
Elvy Robichaud	Progressive Conservative	Tracadie-Sheila
Jean-Paul Savoie	Liberal	Restigouche West
Milt Sherwood	Progressive Conservative	Grand Bay-Westfield
Bruce Smith	Liberal	Woodstock
Hollis Steeves	Liberal	Petitcodiac
Camille Thériault	Liberal	Kent South
Bernard Thériault	Liberal	Caraquet
Doug Tyler	Liberal	Grand Lake
Bernard Valcourt	Progressive Conservative	Edmundston
Jeannot Volpé	Progressive Conservative	Madawaska-les-Lacs
Elizabeth Weir	New Democratic	Saint John Harbour
Jim Wilson	Liberal	Fredericton North

Bold denotes a member of the cabinet.
Italics denotes a party leader
† denotes the Speaker

Former members

Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, a Liberal, was first elected to the legislature in the 1987 election, she resigned in 1997 to accept an appointment as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick.
Frank McKenna, a Liberal, was first elected to the legislature in the 1982 election, he resigned in 1997 in conjunction with his resignation as Premier.
Ray Frenette, a Liberal, was first elected to the legislature in the 1974 election, he resigned in 1998 following his resignation as Premier.
Alan Graham, a Liberal, was first elected to the legislature in the 1967 election, he resigned in 1998 after retiring from the cabinet.
Russell King, a Liberal, was first elected to the legislature in the 1987 election, he resigned in 1998 after retiring from the cabinet.

References

Elections in New Brunswick 1984–2006, Elections New Brunswick^{[dead link‍]} (pdf)

^ Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick - Journals. Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. February 5, 1997.
^ Porter-Staff, Tim. (January 30, 1998.) "Doucet back on Liberal side: Rebel MLA returns to flock". Daily Gleaner. Retrieved June 7, 2011, from Canadian Newsstand Atlantic. (Document ID: 1572761801).