N.B. Liberals board campaign bus days before official campaign period begins
The official election campaign period doesn't begin in New Brunswick for another four days, but Liberal Leader Brian Gallant has already put hundreds of kilometres on his red campaign bus.
He boarded the bus in Shippagan on Sunday morning and from there travelled south to Tracadie and then Moncton to begin outlining his promises, should he be reelected as premier.
A party press release called Sunday "the first day of campaigning."
But officially, it's not. Election day in New Brunswick is set for Sept. 24, and the province's fixed election date law means the campaign doesn't officially begin until Aug. 23. However, Gallant's not breaking any rules by getting a head start.
"We wanted to hit the road so we could meet with as many New Brunswickers as possible to listen to their ideas, their thoughts and their concerns," Gallant said in Moncton when asked why the tour started before the official campaign period.
After Moncton, the party's agenda included stops in Fredericton and Saint John and a campaign rally to be held at the Qplex in Quispamsis. That community is in the riding represented by Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs.
Paul D'Astous, executive director of the PC party, told Radio-Canada the parties have been in pre-election mode for some time already when asked about the start of the Liberal bus tour.
The PC party plans to hold a breakfast Monday with the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce and will start its own bus tour early in the week.
Its first stop will be in the Fredericton region, he said.
D'Astous said Wednesday will be the day they're "on the road for the full campaign."
In an emailed statement, NDP Leader Jennifer McKenzie said candidates met in Fredericton on Sunday.
"The NDP has been busy rebuilding the party across New Brunswick over the last months and I'm looking forward to launching our campaign Thursday," McKenzie said in the statement.
Elections NB allows each party to spend $200,000 per year on partisan activity outside the election period, which includes advertising and events like the bus tour.
Once the campaign officially begins at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 23, the parties that run candidates in all 49 ridings can spend up to $1,124,582.
Financial advantage
The Liberals head into the election with a significant financial advantage over other parties.
Reports filed with Elections NB show the party had $1.8 million in the bank as of Dec. 31 compared to $13,000 for the PCs.
As the tour buses roll into gear, it marks the beginning of Gallant's hunt for a second term as premier, something no New Brunswick politician has accomplished since Tory Bernard Lord won his second election in 2003.
The Liberals defeated the PCs in 2014.
Heading into this election, the Liberals hold the balance of power in the 49-seat legislature.
The party has 24 MLAs compared to 21 Tories, one Green member and one independent. Two seats are vacant.
The Green Party, led by David Coon, has nominated candidates in all 49 ridings.
The People's Alliance led by Kris Austin has nominated 24 candidates.
The NDP has nominated 29 candidates.
Correction : An earlier version of this story said the NDP had nominated 19 candidates, the number shown on the party website. In fact, the NDP has nominated 29 candidates so far.(Aug 20, 2018 2:34 PM)
