1963 New Brunswick general election

Canadian provincial election September 2023 January 2016 1963 New Brunswick general election PC NB Liberal name 1958 Kent 31 seats 32 1 51.8% 1.6% NB PC nohash NB Liberal nohash Cyril Sherwood NB PC name 1960 Kings 21 seats 20 1 48.2% 2.0% Louis Robichaud Lib New Brunswick Premier Louis Robichaud NB Liberal name Premier after election Louis Robichaud NB Liberal name Outgoing members 52 seats to the 45th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly27 seats were needed for a majority Elected members legislative no 1960 New Brunswick general election 1960 April 22, 1963 1967 New Brunswick general election 1967 thumb|right|250px|Rendition of party representation in the 45th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly decided by this election. #F08080 Liberals (32) #6495ED Progressive Conservatives (20) The 1963 New Brunswick general election was held on April 22, 1963, to elect 52 members to the 45th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election was called by surprise by Liberal Premier Louis Robichaud. The Progressive Conservatives, under leader Cyril Sherwood, had accused the Liberals of corruption for allowing an Italian company, Cartiere del Timavo, to construct a paper mill in Newcastle, and grant it rights to Crown land over other companies. The Conservatives also claimed that Lieutenant-Governor Leonard O'Brien had sold land to the company. Robichaud made a quick decision to call an election amid those accusations. Analysts had wondered why Robichaud decided to call the election only two-and-a-half years into his mandate over what they thought was a small issue. Several of his projects, such as tax reform and an overhaul of post-secondary education (which eventually led to the creation of the Université de Moncton and the University of New Brunswick at Saint John), died in the legislature. However, Robichaud later said that he held the election while his popularity was at its height, and the Conservatives were weak. Robichaud campaigned on a platform of economic development and encouragement of outside investment in the province. Cartiere del Timavo threatened to cancel the project if the Liberals lost the election. Many voters perceived Sherwood as too timid in his attacks on the Liberals on the campaign trail, as compared to his vigorous speeches in the Legislature. The campaign coincided with a federal election, which was held two weeks earlier. That election saw the Conservatives of John Diefenbaker defeated by the Liberals of Lester Pearson. Robichaud then used the Liberal victory nationally as leverage provincially and promised New Brunswick would receive better treatment from the federal government with the same party in power. On election day, the Liberals were re-elected with an increased majority of one seat over the 1960 election. New Brunswick general election, 1963 Party Leader Seats Pop Vote New Brunswick Liberal Association Louis Robichaud 32 51.8% Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick Cyril Sherwood 20 48.2% Popular vote #ddd 600px 410px Liberal NB Liberal 51.80 PC NB PC 48.20Seats summary #ddd 600px 410px Liberal NB Liberal 61.54 PC NB PC 38.46 References Frank B. Feigert Canada Votes, 1935-1988 https://archive.org/details/canadavotes1935101feig_2 1989 Duke University Press 160 978-0-8223-0894-2 Further reading Saywell John T. John Saywell Canadian Annual Review for 1963 1964 University of Toronto Press Toronto https://archive.org/details/canadianannualre0000unse_b0o5 registration Category:1963 elections in Canada Category:Elections in New Brunswick Category:1963 in New Brunswick Category:April 1963 in Canada