Arch C. Pafford (October 21, 1941 – June 5, 2024) was a Canadian politician in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. In the 1988 federal election, he ran for office as a candidate of the Confederation of Regions Party of Canada (CoR). He placed third with 10.7 per cent of the vote in the riding of Miramichi. CoR did surprisingly well in New Brunswick, with 4.3 per cent of the popular vote, considering it was a

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

-based party whose national results were less than one-half of one per cent. Due to this success, Pafford and other CoR supporters founded the

New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party The New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party was a political party in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada. It was the only branch of the Confederation of Regions Party of Canada to win any seats in their respective legislature. Having won ...

, a party to contest provincial elections. The party attracted a lot of support in

anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

areas of the province because of the collapse of the

Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a Centre-right politics, centre-right Conservatism in Canada, conservative political party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The party has its o ...

in the 1987 election, and resentment against PC

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 ...

Richard Hatfield Richard Bennett Hatfield (April 9, 1931 – April 26, 1991) was a New Brunswick politician and the longest serving premier of New Brunswick from 1970 to 1987.Richard Starr, ''Richard Hatfield, The Seventeen Year Saga,'' 1987, Early life ...

's support of official bilingualism. The CoR party won eight seats in the 1991 New Brunswick election, and formed the official opposition. Pafford did not win a seat, finishing in third place in his

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riding. As a result, Pafford resigned the leadership. In 1995, Pafford ran for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of the new city of Miramichi, but was defeated. He largely withdrew from the political scene but participated with other former CoR members in founding the

Grey Party of Canada The Grey Party of Canada was a political party in Canada. The party was a protest movement started by senior citizens who want to make views known on specific issues including tax credits for seniors, saving Medicare, and free medications for sen ...

in 2001. He re-entered politics in 2004 when he again ran for mayor of Miramichi. He finished in a distant fourth of four candidates with 9.6 per cent of the vote, while the other three candidates were virtually tied with approximately 30 per cent of the vote each.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pafford, Arch Candidates in New Brunswick provincial elections Confederation of Regions Party of Canada candidates in the 1988 Canadian federal election Grey Party of Canada politicians New Brunswick candidates for Member of Parliament New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party politicians New Brunswick political party leaders People from Miramichi, New Brunswick