The New Brunswick election race might not seem as exciting as the Ontario or Quebec elections, but New Brunswick might have a tighter race.
Brian Gallant is running for re-election hoping for a second term as New Brunswick premier. Gallant's Liberal Party won 27 seats in 2014, now down to 24. Blaine Higgs, who took over for David Alward as Progressive Conservative leader, started with 21 seats and the party is up to 22. David Coon is the Green Party leader who got elected from the Fredericton South riding in 2014.
The people of New Brunswick normally give a premier at least 2 terms in office, but not lately. Shawn Graham for the Liberals (2006-2010) was the first to only get a single term followed by Alward (2010-2014). Gallant is hoping to buck that recent trend.
The Liberals currently have a premier in every maritime province in Atlantic Canada.
The election cycle officially started yesterday with the election set for September 24. There will be 49 seats up for grabs, with 25 marking a majority.
The Liberals started this bus earlier this week. Coon started out his campaign on Tuesday. Didn't hear about any early movement from the Progressive Conservatives.
While this race may not be that exciting, Elections New Brunswick wants to take no chances. The organisation is putting out a call to stop sharing fake news.
The series of 15-second videos in English and French (New Brunswick is the only official bilingual province in all of Canada) reminds people not to believe something that is too good to be true.
- Consider the source: Is the news from a legitimate media organization that you’ve heard of?
- Is it a joke? Satirical websites will usually identify themselves as such but not always
- Read beyond the headline: Headlines are supposed to be used to attract attention and won’t tell the whole story. Some fake news stories can be easily identified with a quick read through the article.
- Check the byline: Is the author a real person or does their name sound fake?
- Check the support: Look up the story’s sources. Do they support the content of the article?
- Check the date: Some fake news stories piggybacking off of stories that are years old, twisting them to support their new agenda.
- Check your biases: Confirmation bias leads to people believing information that supports their own views and disregarding information that doesn’t. Elections NB says they encourage people to put aside their biases before sharing.
These tips are great regardless of the election. Unfortunately, the U.S. system isn't nearly as strong as Elections Canada and their provincial counterparts.
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The NDP is not strong as a provincial party in Atlantic Canada. The party has 7 legislators in Nova Scotia, 2 in Newfoundland and Labrador, and 0 in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.
The Green Party has 2 members in Prince Edward Island and 1 in New Brunswick. In fact, the Green Party outraised the NDP in New Brunswick for the second year in a row.
We want to extend our condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of those murdered in the Fredericton shooting.
photo credit: New Brunswick
video credit: Elections New Brunswick
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