Tobique—Mactaquac

Tobique—Mactaquac covers a vast stretch of western New Brunswick, one of the province's largest ridings by area at over 15,000 square kilometres. The district runs along the upper Saint John River valley from the Maine border through the agricultural heartland of Carleton County, taking in the towns of Woodstock, Hartland, Florenceville-Bristol, Perth-Andover, and Bath, as well as portions of York County including Keswick Ridge, Nackawic, and—following the 2022 redistribution—the communities of Hanwell, Harvey, and Kingsclear. The riding is home to several Wolastoqey First Nations, including Tobique (Neqotkuk), Kingsclear, and Woodstock. With a 2021 population of roughly 69,300 under the previous boundaries, it is a predominantly anglophone and rural riding.

Candidates

Richard Bragdon (Conservative) is the incumbent, first elected in 2019. Raised in the Nackawic area and residing in Keswick Ridge, Bragdon brought nearly 25 years of experience as a realtor, pastor, and non-profit executive to Parliament. His private member's bill to establish a framework for reducing recidivism was adopted into law during the 43rd Parliament. He was re-elected in 2021.

Julian Moulton (Liberal) is a member of the Tobique First Nation band council, where he has served for eight years across two consecutive terms, working on economic development, tourism, energy, health and addictions, and policing. At 34, Moulton is a father of three and a volunteer who has taught traditional drumming and ceremonial songs at local schools for over 20 years. He was acclaimed as the Liberal candidate.

Michael John Winter (NDP) grew up in southern New Brunswick and focused his campaign on health care, affordable housing, and protecting the environment. He emphasized the cost-of-living crisis, free dental care, and the effects of climate change as central issues facing Tobique—Mactaquac residents.

Liam MacDougall (Green Party) is a first-year student at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, studying Environment and Society and Political Science. He previously ran provincially in Albert-Riverview during the 2024 New Brunswick election, seeking to demonstrate that young people have a place in political representation.

Vern Brundle (People's Party) ran on a platform of freedom, personal responsibility, and economic reform, arguing at a candidates' forum that New Brunswick is falling behind other provinces on housing and economic development.

About the Riding

Agriculture is the economic heartbeat of Tobique—Mactaquac. The upper Saint John River valley is one of Canada's premier potato-growing regions, and the riding's largest private employer is McCain Foods, whose processing plant in Florenceville-Bristol employs over 1,000 workers. The town of Hartland is home to the world's longest covered bridge, a National Historic Site spanning 391 metres across the Saint John River, while Woodstock serves as the service and retail centre for surrounding communities. Forestry remains important across the riding's interior, though the sector has contracted from its historical peak.

The Mactaquac Dam, located on the Saint John River near Fredericton, generates roughly 12 percent of New Brunswick's electricity and is the province's largest hydroelectric facility. NB Power received environmental approval in 2025 to proceed with a multi-billion-dollar refurbishment projected to cost between $7.5 billion and $9 billion and extend the station's life to 2068. The project, expected to span more than a decade, would create hundreds of local jobs but raised concerns about ratepayer costs.

First Nations issues carry particular weight in this riding. The Tobique First Nation, one of New Brunswick's largest Wolastoqey communities, has been at the centre of calls for an Indigenous-led inquiry into systemic racism in the province. Housing on reserve remained a pressing concern, with the federal Housing Accelerator Fund committing funding in 2024 to fast-track new units on Tobique. Trust between the community and the RCMP deteriorated following a fatal incident in early 2025.

In the 2025 campaign, US tariff threats loomed over the riding's agricultural exporters—potatoes, lumber, and processed foods all cross the border in significant volumes. The cost of living in rural communities, health-care access at understaffed clinics, and the future of resource-based employment were persistent voter concerns across a riding where median incomes trail the national average.