‘A moment of brief joy’: New Brunswick Liberal win may not alleviate Trudeau’s woes

A historic Liberal victory in Monday’s New Brunswick election may not be the boost Justin Trudeau needs, according to local experts, who believe the provincial race was a referendum on the outgoing premier and not the embattled prime minister.

Susan Holt’s Liberals beat out Blaine Higgs’ incumbent Progressive Conservatives in Monday’s election, denying the latter his seat in the legislature and a third term running New Brunswick.

The victory means Holt will be the province’s first female premier, and marks a win for the Liberal brand at a time when most provinces have Conservative leaders and the federal party under Trudeau appears to be in trouble.

Donald Wright, a professor of political science at the University of New Brunswick, said the result could be welcome but comes in an election fought on entirely different issues.