# Dorothy Shephard

Dorothy Shephard (born c. 1961) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 2010 provincial election and served until 2024. She represented the electoral district of Saint John Lancaster as a member of the Progressive Conservatives. She was born and raised in Saint John. Shephard was re-elected in the 2014, 2018 and 2020 provincial elections. Prior to becoming involved in politics, she owned and operated Benjamin Moore Colour Centre, a retail decorating store, for 17 years.
Shephard served as Minister of Healthy and Inclusive Communities in the Alward government from 2012 to 2014. In 2018, she was appointed Minister of Social Development in the Higgs government. In 2020, she was appointed Minister of Health, and in 2022, she was returned to the post of Minister of Social Development.
Shephard resigned from cabinet on June 15, 2023, by handing Premier Blaine Higgs a handwritten resignation letter on the floor of legislature after a voting for an opposition motion calling for further studies on Policy 713. In subsequent media interviews, she cited frustration with Higgs' leadership approach as the reason for her resignation, with his management of Policy 713 being the culmination of her frustrations. On March 21, 2024 Shephard announced that she would not be a contestant in the provincial election scheduled for October 2024, citing a conflict between the party's traditionally "moderate, centrist values", which she supported, and its recent "hyper-focused trend with far-right politics".

## Election results

2020 New Brunswick general election: Saint John Lancaster :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Dorothy Shephard | 3,560 | 54.24 | +9.09 |
| | Liberal | Sharon Teare | 1,471 | 22.41 | -3.58 |
| | Green | Joanna Killen | 938 | 14.29 | +5.53 |
| | People's Alliance | Paul Seelye | 394 | 6.00 | -7.87 |
| | New Democratic | Don Durant | 201 | 3.06 | -3.17 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 6,564 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 18 | 0.27 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,582 | 63.39 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 10,384 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | +6.34 |
2018 New Brunswick general election: Saint John Lancaster :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Dorothy Shephard | 3,001 | 45.15 | +5.97 |
| | Liberal | Kathleen Riley-Karamanos | 1,727 | 25.99 | -6.35 |
| | People's Alliance | Paul Seelye | 922 | 13.87 | -- |
| | Green | Doug James | 582 | 8.76 | +4.53 |
| | New Democratic | Tony Mowery | 414 | 6.23 | -16.74 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 6,646 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | |
2014 New Brunswick general election: Saint John Lancaster :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Dorothy Shephard | 2,619 | 39.18 | -11.57 |
| | Liberal | Peter McGuire | 2,162 | 32.34 | -1.49 |
| | New Democratic | Abel LeBlanc | 1,535 | 22.97 | +12.79 |
| | Green | Ashley Durdle | 283 | 4.23 | +0.59 |
| | Independent | Mary Ellen Carpenter | 85 | 1.27 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 6,684 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 19 | 0.28 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,703 | 62.67 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 10,696 |
| | Progressive Conservative notional hold | Progressive Conservative notional hold | Swing | Swing | -5.04 |
| Independent candidate Mary Ellen Carpenter lost 2.37 percentage points from her performance in the 2010 election as a Green candidate. New Democratic candidate Abel LeBlanc lost 10.86 percentage points from his performance in the 2010 election as a Liberal candidate. |||||||
| Source: Elections New Brunswick |||||||
2010 New Brunswick general election: Saint John Lancaster :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Dorothy Shephard | 3,429 | 50.75 | +13.91 |
| | Liberal | Abel LeBlanc | 2,286 | 33.83 | -25.16 |
| | New Democratic | Habib Kilisli | 688 | 10.18 | +6.01 |
| | Green | Mary Ellen Carpenter | 246 | 3.64 | – |
| | People's Alliance | Wendy Coughlin | 108 | 1.60 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 6,757 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 36 | 0.53 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,793 | 66.74 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 10,178 |
| | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | +19.54 |
| Source: Elections New Brunswick |||||||