1974 New Brunswick general election

The 1974 New Brunswick general election was held on November 18, 1974, to elect 58 members to the 48th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It saw Richard Hatfield's Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick win its second majority government with a gain of one seat despite losing the popular vote to Robert J. Higgins's New Brunswick Liberal Party. For the second election in a row, the Conservatives received a majority in the parliament despite receiving fewer votes than the Liberals.

1974 New Brunswick general election

← 1970 November 18, 1974 1978 →

58 seats of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
30 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Lib
Leader Richard Hatfield Robert Higgins
Party Progressive Conservative Liberal
Leader since 1967 1971
Leader's seat Carleton Centre Saint John Park
Last election 32 26
Seats won 33 25
Seat change Increase1 Decrease1
Percentage 46.86% 47.52%
Swing Decrease1.54% Decrease1.08

Popular vote by riding. As this is an FPTP election, seat totals are not determined by popular vote, but instead via results by each riding.

Premier before election

Richard Hatfield
Progressive Conservative

Premier after election

Richard Hatfield
Progressive Conservative

Despite the Hatfield government's involvement in the failed Bricklin SV-1 automobile plant and a series of kickback schemes, there were few surprises during the campaign. Hatfield had made inroads in the Acadian community since the 1970 election, winning three francophone seats in by-elections. The Acadian support proved key during Hatfield's entire term as premier.

This was the first New Brunswick election in which candidates contested only single-member ridings, established as a result of the 1973 electoral redistribution; previous elections had each county as an electoral district electing a varying number of members, based on their respective populations, with multi-member districts predominating.

Results

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Rendition of party representation in the 48th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly decided by this election
  Progressive Conservatives (33)
  Liberals (25)
Summary of the 1974 Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick election results[1]
Party Party leader # of
candidates
Seats Popular vote
1970 Dissolution Elected Change # % % Change
  Progressive Conservative Richard Hatfield 58 32 32 33 +1 145,304 46.86 -1.54
  Liberal Robert Higgins 58 26 26 25 -1 147,372 47.53 -1.08
  New Democratic Albert Richardson 35 0 0 0 0 9,092 2.93 +0.10
  Parti Acadien Euclide Chaisson 13 0 0 0 0 3,607 1.16
  Independents 11 0 0 0 0 4,723 1.52
Popular vote
Liberal
47.53%
PC
46.86%
New Democratic
2.93%
Others
2.68%
Seats summary
PC
56.90%
Liberal
43.10%

References

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  1. ^ Frank B. Feigert (1989). Canada Votes, 1935-1988. Duke University Press. p. 160. ISBN 9780822308942.

Further reading

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