Saint John ridings and suburbs prove to be huge success for Liberals

The Saint John region saw the largest Liberal shift in the province on election night, as the partyflipped three ridings.

Liberals David Hickey, John DornanandKate ElmanWilcottwon thoseridings, which were previously held by Conservatives.

"We promoted ourselves as a team, and I think the public supported that," Dornan said in an interview.

Hickey, a city councillor, was up against PC candidate Adam Smith, a volunteer firefighter and assistant to government House leader Glen Savoie.

Results at midnightshowed Hickey with56.9 per cent of the vote, and Smith at 26 per cent.

'We're incredibly excited, I mean, how could we not be with the results?" Hickey said in an interview, calling the vote in Saint John a "massive sweep" for the Liberals.

Dornan, a doctor, was the CEO of Horizon Health and was fired by Premier Blaine Higgs. Hewas ahead with more than 53 per cent of the vote, as of midnight. He was up against PC candidate Paul Dempsey, a retired Canadian Navy captain, who had37.6 per cent of the vote.

Despite a large margin of victory, Dornan said he was surprised.

"No, I thought it would be tight, I was nervous, it was a strong Conservative riding under [former PC MLA Trevor] Holder, and I knew we were up against that," Dornan said in an interview after the results.

First elected in 1999, Holder was the longest-serving member of the New Brunswick Legislature, before resigning in March after breaking ranks with Higgs over Policy713.

Dornan called his medical background "extremely important" to how he campaigned, and said it came up often while knocking on doors.

"This is a world I've lived for 40 years," he said, adding that he also has had discussions within the party about what he sees as solutions.

When asked if he was interested in becoming health minister, Dornansaid his main focus was on his riding, but said he would be "glad to accept" whatever position Holt offers him.

Kate Elman Wilcott won Saint John West-Lancaster, a seat formerly held by PC Dorothy Shephard.

Wilcott had more than 46 per cent of the vote and Kim Costainof the Progressive Conservatives had 36.8 per cent, as of midnight.

"Going door to door, I could tell that people wanted a change, people were ready for a change," Wilcott said."But there were people who wouldn't say one way or another [how they would vote], so we were never really sure."

Hickey said he and his new Liberal colleagues have their work ahead of them.

"Tuesday morning, there are still going to be 400 people on the streets in Saint John. There's still going to be 18,000 New Brunswickers on a waitlist for affordable housing. There's still going to be 180,000 people waiting for a family doctor."

As with Dornan,Hickey and Wilcott also were running in ridings where PC ministers in the Higgs government resigned and did not re-offer. Arlene Dunn quit Saint John Harbour and did not publicly offer a reason why, while Dorothy Shephard quit Saint John-Lancaster and made it clear it was because she disagreed with Higgs over Policy 713.

"We saw in that MLAs that were true to the values that they were elected on, and true to the values that they represented ... I'm incredibly proud of the legacy that both of them have left in each of our ridings," Hickey said.

The PCs and Liberals were in a tight race in Saint John East, whereformer House leader Glen Savoie was running for re-election. He was up against Liberal David Alston. Savoie won with 43.6 per cent of the vote, and Alston had43.1 per cent.

In the Saint John suburbs, Liberals were also winning. Higgs lostto Liberal Aaron Kennedyin Quispamsisby over two percentage points, andin Rothesay,Liberal candidate Alyson Townsend beat Ted Flemming, attorney general under Higgs, by over eight percentage points.

In a race that drew lots of attention, former Conservative MP John Herron, now running as a Liberal candidate, narrowly beat PC candidate Faytene Grasseschiby just under three percentage points in Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins.

The PCs did winsome southern ridings.

PC Tourism and Culture Minister Tammy Scott-Wallace held onto her seat with 44.8 per cent, as Liberal candidate Bruce Northrup, a former PC MLA,came second with 38.8 per cent.

Kathy Bockus, who has been seniors minister, won for the PCs in Saint Croix, with over 45 per cent of the vote,against Liberal candidate Troy Lyons, with 28.6 per cent.

In neighbouring Fundy-The Isles-Saint John Lancaster, where PC MLA Andrea Anderson-Mason decided not to re-offer, Ian Lee won with 59 per cent of the vote. Liberal candidate Patty Borthwick had 30.5 per cent.

The PCs also held Kings Centre with a strong victory by Bill Oliver at nearly 50 per cent, with Liberal Brian Stephenson trailing at 33.2 per cent.