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 most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

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 * Filin ...

Michael Malley Michael "Tanker" Malley (born July 8, 1962) is a former Canadian politician in New Brunswick, Canada. He represented the riding of Miramichi-Bay du Vin in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2006 and served as Speaker of the ...

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 govern ...

Bernard Lord Bernard Lord (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer, business executive and former politician. He served as the 30th premier of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2006. Lord was appointed as board chair of Ontario Power Generation in 2014. Ear ...

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 captu ...

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 Comedy ...

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 veh ...

New Democrats New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United State ...

. 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 Victor Eric Boudreau (born May 3, 1970) is a New Brunswick politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 2004 to 2018, representing the ridings of Shediac-Cap-Pelé and Shediac-Beaubassin-Cap-Pelé for the New ...

who was elected in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

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 left the Liberal

caucus A caucus is a group or 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 ...

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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

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

crossed the floor In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...

to sit as an independent thus putting

's government into a

minority Minority may refer to: Politics * Minority government, formed when a political party does not have a majority of overall seats in parliament * Minority leader, in American politics, the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative b ...

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 Fren ...

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 most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

Former members

Bernard Richard Bernard Paul Richard, C.M. (born April 11, 1951) is a Canadian social worker, lawyer, and politician in the Province of New Brunswick. Early life and education Raised and educated in Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick, Richard earned a Bachelor of Arts ...

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

Notes

References

External links

Elections in New Brunswick 1984–2006, Elections New Brunswick
(pdf) {{New Brunswick politics, state=collapsed Terms of the New Brunswick Legislature 2003 establishments in New Brunswick 2006 disestablishments in New Brunswick