| Date | October 18, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Convention | Fredericton, New Brunswick |
| Resigning leader | Bernard Lord |
| Won by | David Alward |
| Ballots | 1 |
| Candidates | 2 |
The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick held a leadership election in 2008, following the resignation of Bernard Lord on December 13, 2006. The Conservatives had last had a leadership election in 1997.
The leadership convention occurred on Saturday, October 18, 2008. The main convention site was at the Aitken University Centre on the UNB Fredericton campus in Fredericton, NB. The party also operated satellite convention sites around the province. The event also saw a tribute to former Premier Bernard Lord on the evening preceding the election.
The PC Party is a fiscally conservative and otherwise moderate political party in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is, with the New Brunswick Liberal Association, one of two parties that contend for power in the province and most recently controlled the government from winning the 1999 election until losing the 2006 election.
On January 5, 2007, it was reported that interim leader Jeannot Volpé would not allow the contest to begin until after the first session of the 56th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly closed that June, making it unlikely for the leadership to be decided before late 2007 or possibly into 2008.[1] In fact, the leadership race did not begin in earnest until the end of the second session when David Alward declared his candidacy on June 19, 2008.
At the party's annual general meeting in Fredericton on October 20, 2007 it was announced that the convention would be held in the fall of 2008,[2] on February 11, 2008 it was announced that the vote would take place on October 18, 2008 - exactly 11 years after the previous leadership election for the party. The voting will take place primarily at a convention at the Aitken University Centre in Fredericton,[3] but there will be satellite conventions in Moncton, Saint John, St. Leonard and Bois-Blanc (near Paquetville) as well as polling stations on Grand Manan, Deer Island and Campobello Island.[4]