The 55th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly was created following a general election in 2003 and was dissolved on August 18, 2006.

Leadership

The

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

from its first meeting until February 14, 2006 was

Bev Harrison Beverly John "Bev" Harrison (born May 10, 1942) is a former teacher and New Brunswick politician. Early life The son of William and Jean Harrison, Harrison received bachelor degrees in Arts and Education from the University of New Brunswick. P ...

who had served as speaker in the 54th Assembly as well. Harrison resigned from the post to join the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. Michael Malley was elected speaker by acclamation on March 28, 2006 and served in that role until the assembly was dissolved.

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Bernard Lord led the government for the whole of the life of the assembly.

Shawn Graham Shawn Michael Graham (born February 22, 1968) is a Canadian politician, who served as the 31st premier of New Brunswick from 2006 to 2010. He was elected leader of the New Brunswick Liberal Party in 2002 and became premier after his party captur ...

led the

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

for the whole of the life of the assembly. From its forming to her resignation on October 13, 2005,

Elizabeth Weir Elizabeth Jane Weir (born February 20, 1948) is a Canadian lawyer and politician in New Brunswick. She was elected leader of the New Democratic Party of New Brunswick in June 1988 and became an opposition voice to the Liberal government, whic ...

led the

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a V ...

New Democrats New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

. Following her resignation, the New Democrats were no longer represented in the assembly.

Members

All were elected in the 35th general election held on June 9, 2003 except for Victor Boudreau who was elected in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

on October 4, 2004 and Ed Doherty who was elected in a by-election on November 14, 2005. The standings were changed further on January 13, 2006, when

Frank Branch Frank Richard Branch (May 7, 1944 – October 22, 2018) was a Canadian politician. Branch was born on May 7, 1944, in Bathurst, New Brunswick. A Liberal, he was first elected to the New Brunswick Legislature to the multi-member riding for Glo ...

left the Liberal

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

to sit as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

; and on February 17, 2006, when then Progressive Conservative MLA Michael Malley

crossed the floor Crossed may refer to: * ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis * ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie * "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead'' S ...

to sit as an independent thus putting Bernard Lord's government into a minority situation. Malley, while serving as speaker, changed his affiliation back to Progressive Conservative on April 13, 2006. Some controversy arose following this as following the 2003 election, the House unanimously passed a motion requiring the Opposition Liberals to

pair Pair or PAIR or Pairing may refer to: Government and politics * Pair (parliamentary convention), matching of members unable to attend, so as not to change the voting margin * ''Pair'', a member of the Prussian House of Lords * ''Pair'', the Frenc ...

a member with the speaker during meetings of committees of the whole in order to ''maintain the government majority'' in such situations. The Opposition argued that there was no precedent for a speaker to cross the floor and therefore, they did not recognize that a majority government existed and would not honour this motion under the circumstances. The House voted on May 30, 2006 to express confidence in the Speaker and therefore, implicitly, approve of his change of affiliation. From that date forward, the Liberals accepted Malley as a Progressive Conservative.

Members at dissolution

Bold denotes a member of the

.
''Italics'' denotes a party leader
† denotes the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

Former members

* Bernard Richard, a Liberal first elected in the 1991 election, represented Shediac-Cap-Pelé from the formation of the assembly until his resignation on November 26, 2003. *

, a New Democrat first elected in the 1991 election, represented

Saint John Harbour Saint John Harbour is a large Harbour#Natural harbors, natural harbour on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of New Brunswick, Canada, and within the seaport city of Saint John, New Brunswick. Harbour description The harbour includes the follo ...

from the formation of the assembly until her resignation on October 13, 2005.

References

Elections in New Brunswick 1984–2006, Elections New Brunswick
(pdf) {{Portal, Canada Terms of the New Brunswick Legislature 2003 establishments in New Brunswick 2006 disestablishments in New Brunswick

Leadership

Members

Members at dissolution

Former members

See also

References