Beauséjour

Beauséjour covers the southeastern coast of New Brunswick, stretching from the eastern suburbs of Moncton to the Northumberland Strait and the Nova Scotia border. With a population of 88,591, it is the most populous of New Brunswick's federal ridings. The district encompasses most of Westmorland County east and north of Moncton along with a large portion of Kent County, taking in communities such as Shediac, Cap-Pelé, Sackville, Dieppe (southern and eastern portions), Bouctouche, and Richibucto. The Confederation Bridge—the world's longest bridge over ice-covered water—connects the riding to Prince Edward Island at Cape Jourimain.

Approximately 61% of residents report French as their mother tongue, reflecting the riding's strong Acadian heritage, while about 38% are English-speaking—a linguistic divide that broadly tracks geography, with Francophone communities concentrated in the north and east and Anglophone populations in the south around Sackville. The riding is home to Mount Allison University in Sackville, a primarily undergraduate liberal arts institution consistently ranked among Canada's top universities.

Candidates

Dominic LeBlanc (Liberal) The son of former Governor General Roméo LeBlanc, Dominic LeBlanc holds degrees from the University of Toronto, the University of New Brunswick, and Harvard Law School. He practised law in Shediac and Moncton before entering politics. First elected in 2000, the 2021 contest was his eighth consecutive victory in Beauséjour. He previously served as Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard (2016–2018) and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs (2018–2019). At dissolution in 2021, he was President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Shelly Mitchell (Conservative) A former RCMP officer posted to the Sackville area in 2003, Mitchell served 15 years in the Mounties, working across District 4 in communities throughout the riding including Shediac, Cap-Pelé, Dorchester, and Memramcook. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and also spent time as a teacher in Japan.

Evelyne Godfrey (NDP) Godfrey grew up in Beauséjour and spent 30 years in England, where she was involved with the Labour Party, the Co-operative Party, and the workers' movement. Her campaign centred on affordable housing, increased federal health transfer payments, and improved mental health services.

About the Riding

Tourism and fisheries are the twin engines of Beauséjour's economy. Shediac bills itself as the "Lobster Capital of the World" and has hosted its annual Lobster Festival since 1949, one of the oldest festivals in the province. The town's giant concrete lobster statue—11 metres long and 5 metres high—draws thousands of visitors each year. Summer tourism along the Northumberland Strait supports hotels, restaurants, and seasonal businesses, while the commercial lobster fishery and seafood processing provide year-round employment. Bouctouche is home to one of the largest clam packing plants in eastern Canada.

Infrastructure investment was a key federal priority in the riding heading into 2021. The governments of Canada and New Brunswick jointly funded the upgrade of the Greater Shediac Sewerage Commission Wastewater Treatment Plant, and a downtown revitalization project modernized water supply, sanitary sewer, and stormwater infrastructure along Shediac's Main Street. These projects aimed to support a growing population in the Shediac–Dieppe corridor, one of the fastest-growing areas in Atlantic Canada.

Health care access was a recurring concern on the campaign trail. The riding's aging population strains existing hospital and clinic capacity, and wait times for specialists and emergency departments had worsened during the pandemic. Affordable housing also emerged as a top issue, particularly in Sackville and Dieppe, where rising rents placed pressure on low-income tenants and university students. The riding's economy additionally depends on agriculture and aquaculture, with Atlantic salmon farming operations and industrial manufacturing contributing to the local employment base.