The 1967 New Brunswick general election was held on October 23, 1967, to elect 58 members to the 46th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada.

Description

The governing

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, under Premier

Louis Robichaud Louis Joseph Robichaud (October 21, 1925 – January 6, 2005), popularly known as "Little Louis" or "P'tit-Louis", was the second (but first elected) Acadian premier of New Brunswick, serving from 1960 to 1970. With the Equal Opportunity ...

, had just completed implementing its landmark

Equal Opportunity Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. The intent is that the important ...

program, which drastically improved government services in poorer and

francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

regions of the province. Several Liberal cabinet ministers had quit politics during the previous term, including some who were uncomfortable with Robichaud's policies. Education minister

Henry Irwin Henry Irwin (24 January 1841 – 5 August 1922) was an architect of British India. He is mainly known for his works in Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. He was a member of the Institution of Engineers. He was awarded a CIE in the 1888 B ...

was fired after having an extramarital affair. The Progressive Conservatives had selected Charlie Van Horne as leader in November 1966. Van Horne, whose cowboy hat had become his trademark to voters, had faced several lawsuits over his personal financial matters during the 1960s which caused him to sell his

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

in Campbellton, but claimed they had all been settled. Liberals claimed that industrialist

K.C. Irving Kenneth Colin Irving, (March 14, 1899 – December 13, 1992) was a Canadian businessman whose business began with a family sawmill in Bouctouche, N.B., in 1882. In 1989, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Biography Early life Bor ...

, who was in his own personal battle with Robichaud, was funding Van Horne's campaign. Conservatives were hopeful that Van Horne's charisma and speaking skills could surpass those of Robichaud. During the campaign, critics accused Van Horne of being vague on his promises for "a new tomorrow". He had pledged to increase health care and education funding while reducing taxes, with no answer as to how it would be accomplished. Questions arose as to the Conservative campaign's funding. He campaigned across the province in a

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

, while

Don Messer Donald Charles Frederick Messer (May 9, 1909 – March 26, 1973) was a Canadian musician, band leader, radio broadcaster, and defining icon of folk music during the 1960s. His CBC Television series '' Don Messer’s Jubilee'' (1959–69) feature ...

, one of the most popular musicians in Atlantic Canada at the time, accompanied Van Horne at several campaign stops. However, Equal Opportunity was wildly unpopular in many Conservative strongholds and the Liberals had been perceived as arrogant. Polls showed a close race. Robichaud campaigned under the slogan of "a responsible government". With the entire campaign focused on attacking Van Horne, he used a dramatic effect of listing all of the Conservatives' promises on paper and unfurling it across a room. In the final days of the campaign, two Toronto newspapers ran unflattering articles about Van Horne, to which he threatened to sue the authors. The Conservative reaction is believed to have turned the results decidedly in Robichaud's favour. The

New Brunswick New Democratic Party The New Brunswick New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique du Nouveau-Brunswick) is a social-democratic provincial political party in New Brunswick, Canada linked with the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). History Or ...

participated in a New Brunswick provincial election for the first time, having sat out of the 1963 election. The party ran only three candidates, all of whom contested the multi-member district of

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

and none of whom were elected.

Brenda Mary Robertson Brenda Mary Robertson ( née Tubb, May 23, 1929 – September 23, 2020) was a Canadian politician who served as Senator. She was the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick and the first woman to become a cabinet minis ...

was elected in this election. She was the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick and the first woman to become a cabinet minister in the province.

Election results

Sources

''Louis J. Robichaud: A Not So Quiet Revolution'' by Michel Cormier, translated by Jonathan Kaplansky. Faye Editions, 2004.

Description

Election results

Sources

References

Further reading