Holt's historic N.B. win also sees record number of women, several francophones elected
CBC
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."
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.
Winnipeg’s Granite Curling Club has asked a judge to decide whether the City of Winnipeg can ignore a provincial decision about residential housing slated to rise next to the club.
A Saskatoon woman says she watched her neighbour's police standoff play out in real time on social media.
One person is dead from carbon monoxide poisoning, following an incident Friday at a building in Regina.
A wind storm that caused the cancellation of all daytime ferries between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland stranded passengers on both sides of the Salish Sea, adding challenges for travelers in an already hectic holiday travel week.
Maritime Electric has officially filed plans with the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission for the rotating power outages it says may be necessary this winter to prevent a provincewide blackout.
A Toronto hotel has organized a Christmas Eve buffet lunch for some Thorncliffe Park residents forced out of their condo units by a complex fire.
Residents in Fort Liard, N.W.T., are being advised to use filtered or bottled water and take other measures to protect themselves from high levels of disinfection byproducts called trihalomethanes in the tap water.
Alberta's election agency announced Monday it has approved a proposed referendum question on the province separating from Canada.
One person has been shot by police after allegedly stabbing two people in Toronto's northwest on Monday, police say.
Prince Edward Island's housing market is becoming more balanced, according to new data.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is presenting a new plan worth more than $35.5 billion to keep First Nations children connected to their communities, culture and families.
The RCMP arrested two men who allegedly used a classified ads website to recruit women to smuggle cannabis out of Canada to Nigeria via the country’s biggest airport.
One person is in a critical condition after an incident in Inukjuak, Que., which led to a shoot-out with police.