Tight three-way race in Fredericton has high stakes for Grits, Tories, Greens

By Ian Campbell

Candidates and political scientists agree that the riding is too close to call.

With its mix of urban and rural voters, and a close race in 2019 that saw three candidates each take about a third of the vote, Fredericton was already a competitive riding.

Add in a floor crossing, and make it a rematch of some of the candidates from 2019, and Fredericton has the potential to be one of the most interesting ridings to watch on election night.

In 2011, Keith Ashfield held the riding for the Tories as part of the Harper majority government. Matt DeCourcey picked up the riding up for the Liberals in 2015 as Justin Trudeau came to power. Then in 2019, Jenica Atwin drew national attention as the first Green MP to be elected outside of British Columbia with her narrow win in Fredericton.

The 2019 race ended with Ms. Atwin taking 33.7 per cent of the vote. Conservative Andrea Johnson finished second with 30.4 per cent. Defeated Liberal incumbent Matt DeCourcey took 27.4 per cent. The NDP’s Mackenzie Thomason finished a distant fourth with six per cent.

Ms. Atwin made headlines again in June 2021 when she crossed the floor to join the Liberals, citing a disagreement with Green Leader Annamie Paul over their positions on the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

That floor crossing caused simmering tensions in the Green Party to break into the open, instigating a months-long public feud between Ms. Paul and members of the Green Party federal council.

full story at https://www.hilltimes.com/2021/08/30/tight-three-way-race-in-fredericton-has-high-stakes-for-grits-tories-greens/314118

Categorised in: Canadian News