Beauséjour

Beauséjour is a federal riding in southeastern New Brunswick, covering most of Westmorland County east and north of Moncton, along with a large portion of Kent County. It runs along the Northumberland Strait coast from Cap-Pelé through Shediac, Bouctouche, and Richibucto, and extends inland to the university town of Sackville near the Nova Scotia border. Parts of the city of Dieppe, on the southern and eastern fringe of the Greater Moncton area, also fall within its boundaries.

Candidates

Dominic LeBlanc (Liberal) — LeBlanc was first elected in 2000 and was seeking his fourth term. The son of former Governor General Roméo LeBlanc, he was born in Ottawa and grew up in both New Brunswick and the nation’s capital. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Toronto’s Trinity College, a law degree from the University of New Brunswick, and a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School. Before entering politics, he practised law in Shediac and Moncton. He ran for the Liberal leadership in 2008 but withdrew to endorse Michael Ignatieff. Heading into 2011, LeBlanc served as the Liberal critic for National Defence.

Evelyne Chapman (Conservative) — Chapman ran as the Conservative candidate in Beauséjour in 2011, challenging the Liberal incumbent.

Susan Levi-Peters (NDP) — Levi-Peters is a resident of Elsipogtog First Nation in Kent County who served as chief of the Elsipogtog band council from 2004 to 2008. During her time as chief, she participated in the signing of the bilateral agreement between First Nation communities and the Government of New Brunswick in 2007.

Natalie Arsenault (Green Party) also contested the riding.

About the Riding

Beauséjour is a predominantly Acadian riding where roughly sixty-three percent of residents speak French as their mother tongue, though a significant English-speaking population lives in the southern portion around Sackville. Shediac, known as the Lobster Capital of the World, hosts the annual Shediac Lobster Festival, held every year since 1949. The lobster and shellfish industries are central to the coastal economy, with fishing wharves and processing plants scattered along the Northumberland Strait. Sackville is home to Mount Allison University, which has been ranked as Canada’s top undergraduate university by Maclean’s magazine more times than any other institution in its category. Bouctouche, on the Kent County coast, is the birthplace of industrialist K. C. Irving and home to Le Pays de la Sagouine, a cultural attraction celebrating Acadian heritage. Dieppe is one of the fastest-growing cities in Atlantic Canada, serving as a bilingual suburban hub on the edge of Greater Moncton. The riding’s population was approximately 86,000. Key issues in 2011 included seasonal employment and EI reform, bilingual services, fisheries management, and rural infrastructure investment.