In Quispamsis, the People’s Alliance of New Brunswick is looking to build on its 10 per cent vote share from the 2018 provincial election.
They’ll run rookie candidate Sara Hall in the riding that has been dominated by Progressive Conservative leader Blaine Higgs since he first ran in 2010.
Hall is a stay-at-home mother who homeschools her children and decided she wanted to get involved in the race after seeing the People’s Alliance had no candidate in her riding.
“One thing I’ve always believed is if we want to see a change or a difference, it has to start with us,” said Hall. “I could keep complaining or posting my opinions online, but if I didn’t get involved what good was it?”
Now, she’ll look to unseat the incumbent premier in a riding where he’s won over 50 per cent of the vote in each of the last three elections.
Hall cited the PANB promise to ban glyphosate spraying on Crown land and continuing to rework the province’s Motor Vehicle Act as two of the party’s platform issues she relates to.
But for Hall, the most important topic this campaign isn’t a specific issue, it’s to elect a party that will listen to constituents.
“My main goal is people need to be listened to. There’s so many issues that are going to come up in the coming years… representatives need to be open to at least address whatever issues come up because I don’t imagine there’s only going to be one or two issues in the next two years,” she said.
The People’s Alliance has faced controversy over the party’s stances on bilingualism in the province, after saying it supported ending language duality during the 2018 campaign, and merging the English and French public health authorities.
Hall said she has heard from some Quispamsis constituents that ‘the language issue’ resonates with them.
“What I heard from a couple people is it’s the jobs – (people) were struggling. They noticed certain people weren’t getting full-time hours because of the language issue,” she said.
Hall said she stands behind the policies and platform of her party.
“The People’s Alliance party has always been pretty clear on their thoughts on (bilingualism).”
Much like her party’s leader Kris Austin, Hall is advocating for the benefits of a minority government in New Brunswick.
“If we want our voices to be heard, there needs to be more than a couple choices,” she said. “The People’s Alliance can offer a voice to people who do want something different. They can make sure that we are heard in the Legislature, instead of one party calling all the shots.”
Hall says the PANB has shown they can make a difference in the legislature with the ways they have challenged the PC government since 2018.
