New Democratic Party: Roger Duguay

Roger Duguay, a soft-spoken former Catholic priest, is hoping to resurrect the New Democratic Party's electoral fortunes after its disastrous 2006 campaign results.

When the political dust cleared after the 2006 election the first campaign in the NDP's post-Elizabeth Weir era the political institution emerged shattered and within weeks it was leaderless.

The party had been unable to field a full slate of 55 candidates and its credibility took further hits when its rookie leader, Allison Brewer, made a series of gaffes and was unable to participate in the French-language debate because of her lack of fluency.

Duguay was one of the first NDP members to call for Brewer's resignation after the election. Duguay, who had finished a close third in his northern riding in the 2006 election, was elected to replace Brewer in October 2007.

Duguay remained largely on the periphery of New Brunswick politics for the first two years of his leadership. When the Liberal government announced its intentions to sell NB Power to Hydro-Qubec in late October, Duguay immediately opposed the deal and began portraying the NDP as the only credible party on the energy front.

At a Jan. 12 joint press conference held by the opposition parties that were aligned against the NB Power deal and hosted at the Progressive Conservative party's headquarters Duguay denounced the Tories for trying to sell NB Power when they were in government.

The NDP leader's aggressive tactics shifted to the pension reform issue in August when he promised his party would voluntarily roll back MLA wages by 20 per cent and slash pension benefits by 50 per cent.

'I am very confident our party will improve our score at the legislature and at the legislature I won't be alone as a NDP MLA.' NDP Leader Roger Duguay

The party produced a satirical poster riffing off the 2004 documentary Supersize Me, which was about a man who gorged himself on McDonald's meals, with Tory Leader David Alward's face stuffed with fries and a bold headline declaring, "Supersize my Pension."

Whether it was the NB Power deal or the MLA pension reform issue, Duguay could have simply hammered Premier Shawn Graham but he has chosen to broaden his political broadsides to include Alward.

Although Alward wasn't the opposition leader when the pension reform bill passed, Duguay said the Tory leader must still be held accountable.

"Mr. Alward was not the leader of the opposition but he was a MLA and [the Tories] did not play their role as members of the opposition," Duguay said in an interview.

Alward's Progressive Conservatives have tried to spin that the NDP's criticism over their energy plans and endorsement of the lucrative pension changes show Duguay believes the Tories and not the Liberals are their main competition.

Not so, says Duguay. The tactic is designed to reinforce how the two main parties have indecipherable differences and are only motivated by clinging to power or regaining it.

He said the two main parties are "disconnected" from ordinary New Brunswick citizens.

"Lots of people will say when talking about the provincial politics, that [former Liberal premier] Louis Robichaud was a good premier, I agree. And [former Tory premier] Richard Hatfield continued with what Louis Robichaud put in place and I agree with that," Duguay said.

"But after that, the last generation, I think we have only one party. Today we have one party at the legislature ... Mr. [Frank] McKenna was more Conservative than Liberal and Mr. [Bernard]Lord was more Liberal than Conservative."

Increased support

Duguay's NDP has seen its support fluctuate in the last year, hitting a high of 22 per cent inAugust 2009and a low of 14 per cent inNovember 2009, according to polls done by Corporate Research Associates.

The party rested at 16 per cent in theJune 2010 CRA political poll, the same level of support it had a year ago.

The NDP was at nine per cent in the polls in May before the September 2006 election campaign.

When the final votes were counted in 2006, the NDP ended up with 5.1 per cent of popular support. That is the lowest overall vote percentage the party has received since the 1974 election.

Duguay said his early focus as leader was on putting together a strong team of staff members and organizing candidates in each of the 55 ridings. He said thatwill help the party avoid another dismalelectoral outcome.

The NDP leader said he will also appear in both leaders' debates.

With public frustration over the failed NB Power deal and the hefty pension increases, Duguay said he feels the time is right for the NDP.

"I think the political context, I feel is favourable," Duguay said.

"[A] bigger group than usual are ready to listen to what the NDP is ready to propose."

The NDP leader is predicting the party is in store for an electoralbreakthrough.

"I am very confident our party will improve our score at the legislature and at the legislature I won't be alone as a NDP MLA," Duguay said.

The NDP will becompetitive in the northeastern ridings as well as in the Saint John area, according to Duguay.

Northern focus

When Duguay's name appears on the 2010 ballot in Tracadie-Sheila it will be the fourth riding that he has tried to represent in the provincial legislature since 1991.

Duguay ran in Caraquet in 1991, Centre-Peninsule in 1999 and Miramichi Bay-Neguac in 2006. (After the 2010 election, Duguay will have run in every Acadian peninsula riding except for Shippagan-Lameque-Miscou.)

Opting to run in Tracadie-Sheila allows Duguay to run against Claude Landry,a first-termTory incumbent who is the least well-known of any of the NDP leader's other possible opponents.

Every Liberal and Progressive Conservative incumbent in the other Acadian peninsula ridingsis either serving or has served in cabinet and has won at least two previous elections.

Landry, on the other hand, was elected for the first time in 2006 after serving as the executive assistant to previous long-time Tory MLA Elvy Robichaud.

Duguay said he felt Tracadie-Sheila was a comfortable fit for him, even though he doesn't live in the riding. He was parish priest in the community and said he feels he understands the issues facing the riding.

Past defeats

Duguay's best previous electoral showing was in 2006 when he won 26.1 per cent of the vote in Miramichi Bay-Neguac but he still finished in third position behind the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives.

Duguay also came in a close third place in the 1991 election in Caraquet when his occupation was listed as a supply teacher. He lost to then Liberal cabinet minister Bernard Thriault, who is now Graham's chief of staff.

His most dismal showing occurred in 1999 when he finished in a distant third position. In that race, he garnered fewer than 1,000 votes.

Former priest

Duguay was elected NDP leader on Oct. 13, 2007, beating Fredericton's Dennis Atchison, another defeated party candidate.

Before entering politics, Duguay was the priest in the Diocese of Bathurst from 1997 to 2005. In that time, he led two churches on the Acadian peninsula.

Duguay's political interests collided with church doctrine in 1999. When Duguay was running in the riding of Centre-Peninsule, he was suspended from his position with the Catholic church for breaking its policy on political activity.

Bishop Andre Richard said at the time that he was concerned how Duguay would be viewed by the community he served because of his political affiliation.

Duguay completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Moncton and completed his bachelor in theology at the University of Laval.