Poffenroth Says Over 92,000 Vote in New Brunswick Election Results Today

Election results today in New Brunswick opened with more than 92,000 advance votes already cast before Monday's municipal polls, chief electoral officer Kim Poffenroth said. Voters went to the polls across 77 municipalities to choose mayors, councillors and district education council members.

Most polling stations were scheduled to stay open until 8 p.m. Monday, while some locations that opened late were to remain open longer to make up for lost time. Poffenroth said more than 15 per cent of eligible voters had already cast ballots before election day.

Advance turnout in New Brunswick

Poffenroth said, “We’ve had over 92,000 New Brunswickers vote in advance.” She said, “Hopefully, the turnout at the advance polls is an indicator of higher voter turnout. But it will be interesting to see this as a benchmark for local government elections going forward,”

The advance ballots came from polls held on May 2 and May 4, along with voting at returning offices. New Brunswick municipal elections typically see about 30 per cent turnout overall, and the province had about 550,000 eligible voters.

Fredericton mayoral race

Fredericton offered one of the more visible contests, with former Liberal MP Jenica Atwin running for mayor against long-time city councillor Steve Hicks and former construction worker John Reid. More than 150 local seats were set to be filled by acclamation, and some seats had no candidate at all.

The election also reflected a smaller local-government map than in 2022, when New Brunswick had 340 local bodies. The province now has 89 local bodies, including 77 municipalities and 12 rural districts, leaving voters in those areas to decide local leadership under the revised structure.

For voters who had not yet cast a ballot, the remaining hours on Monday were the last chance to vote in person at most locations, with delayed polling stations extending later to recover the time lost at the start of the day.