Restigouche-La-Vallée

Restigouche-La-Vallée was a provincial electoral district in New Brunswick, Canada.

Restigouche-La-Vallée
New Brunswick electoral district
Coordinates:47°35′17″N 67°30′11″W / 47.588°N 67.503°W / 47.588; -67.503
Defunct provincial electoral district
LegislatureLegislative Assembly of New Brunswick
District created2006
District abolished2013
First contested2006
Last contested2010

It was created in 2006 as a result of a merger of the old district of Madawaska-la-Vallée with the district of Restigouche West, less small portions on the extreme edges of both districts.

History

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The district was first used in the 2006 provincial general election and featured a battle of incumbents. Percy Mockler, the Progressive Conservative MLA from Madawaska-la-Vallée defeated Burt Paulin, the Liberal MLA from Restigouche West.

On December 18, 2008, Percy Mockler was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper. As a result, a by-election was to be called no later than May 2009.

Premier of New Brunswick Shawn Graham called the by-election on February 6, 2009, and the vote was held March 9, 2009.[1] The Progressive Conservative candidate was Jean-Paul Soucy, the only one to come forward and a former aide to Mockler, and the Liberal candidate was former Restigouche West MLA Burt Paulin.[2] The NDP candidate was Alain Martel.[3]

One local campaign issue concerned whether and how much government should support the forestry company J. D. Irving. Former PC leader and nearby MLA Jeannot Volpé criticized the Liberal government for being too supportive of the company, which is a major employer in the riding of Restigouche-La Vallée. Conservative candidate Jean-Paul Soucy indicated that he disagreed with Volpé's position, while Liberal candidate Burt Paulin said he was surprised that Volpé would criticize one of the largest employers in the region.[4]

Members of the Legislative Assembly

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Assembly Years Member Party
Riding created from Madawaska-la-Vallée and Restigouche West
56th  2006–2009     Percy Mockler Progressive Conservative
 2009–2010     Burt Paulin Liberal
57th  2010–2014     Martine Coulombe Progressive Conservative
Riding dissolved into Restigouche West, Edmundston-Madawaska Centre,
Victoria-la-Vallée and Madawaska-les-Lacs-Edmundston

Election results

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2010 New Brunswick general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Martine (Valcourt) Coulombe 3,727 53.49 +15.31
Liberal Burt Paulin 2,489 35.72 -17.58
New Democratic Alain Martel 550 7.89 -0.63
Green André Arpin 202 2.90
Total valid votes 6,968 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 115 1.62
Turnout 7,083 75.45
Eligible voters 9,388
Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +16.44
[5]
New Brunswick provincial by-election, 2009
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Burt Paulin 3,196 53.30 +14.54
Progressive Conservative Jean-Paul Soucy 2,289 38.18 -14.79
New Democratic Alain Martel 511 8.52 +0.25
Total votes 5,996 100.0  
Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative Swing +14.66
[6]
2006 New Brunswick general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Percy Mockler 3,835 52.97
Liberal Burt Walter Paulin 2,806 38.76
New Democratic Alain Martel 599 8.27
Total valid votes 7,240 100.0  
Progressive Conservative notional gain Swing  
This was the first election in which the district was contested. It resulted from a merger of two districts, one of which had previously voted Progressive Conservative, electing Mockler, and one of which had previously voted Liberal, electing Paulin. Vote totals cannot be reasonably compared with those of the previous election.

References

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  1. ^ Government of New Brunswick. "Byelection in Restigouche-La Vallée riding." February 6, 2009.[1]
  2. ^ Gilles Duval, "Retichouche-La-Vallée: le 9 mars confirmé." L'Acadie Nouvelle, February 7, 2009.
  3. ^ Government of New Brunswick. "Elections NB - Unofficial list of candidates." accessed on February 28, 2009.[2]
  4. ^ CBC News, "N.B. Tory byelection candidate chides prominent Conservative MLA." Tuesday, February 17, 2009.[3]
  5. ^ Elections New Brunswick (2010). "Thirty-seventh General Election - Report of the Chief Electoral Officer" (PDF). Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  6. ^ http://www1.gnb.ca/elections/06prov/09mar09/provresults-e.asp?ELECTIONID=7 [dead link]
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