NB: The PCs and Liberals remain neck-and-neck in terms of voting intentions, with the Liberal Party leader most preferred as premier

  • An increased majority are dissatisfied with the performance of the New Brunswick provincial government
  • Susan Holt of the Liberal Party leads as most preferred for premier

May 24, 2023:

An increased majority of New Brunswickers express dissatisfaction with the performance of the provincial government led by PC Premier Blaine Higgs, according to the latest survey by Narrative Research. Two-thirds (65%, up from 56% in February 2023) are currently dissatisfied, while three in ten (31%, compared with 37%) are currently satisfied with the government’s overall performance. Dissatisfaction is highest in Northern NB and lowest in Southern NB, although a majority are dissatisfied across regions.

The PCs and Liberals continue to have similar levels of support. One-third prefer each of the PCs (34%, compared with 37% in February 2023) and the Liberals (34%, compared with 35%). Two in ten would vote for the Green Party (19%, compared with 17%), while one in ten would vote for the NDP (10%, compared with 9%). The People’s Alliance of New Brunswick has backing from 2% of decided voters (unchanged). Liberals have the highest support in Northern NB, while the PCs have the highest support in Southern NB. Moncton residents are more evenly split across the three leading parties.

Susan Holt of the Liberal Party leads as most preferred for premier. Susan Holt is, preferred by one-quarter (25%, compared with 23% in February 2023), while just under two in ten prefer either Blaine Higgs (18%, compared with 22%) or David Coon of the Green Party (17%, compared with 15%). Five percent (compared with 7%) prefer Rick DeSaulniers of the People’s Alliance of New Brunswick and 5% (unchanged) prefer Alex White, interim leader of the NDP.


These results are part of Narrative Research’s Atlantic Quarterly®, an independent telephone survey of Atlantic Canadians, and are drawn from a sample of 400 adult New Brunswickers, conducted from May 3-17, 2023, with overall results accurate to within ± 4.9 percentage points, 95 out of 100 times. The results are weighted by region, age, and gender to reflect the overall New Brunswick adult population.

Narrative Research, www.narrativeresearch.ca, is a non-partisan, 100% Canadian-owned research company, certified as a Women Business Enterprise (WBE). Follow us on Twitter at @EveryNarrative.

For more information, please contact:

Margaret Brigley, CEO, Narrative Research at 902.493.3830, mbrigley@narrativeresearch.ca

For PDF and Data tables, click here.