# Rothesay (electoral district)

Rothesay is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada. The riding consists of the Town of Rothesay and its surroundings.
The district was created in 1994 as Saint John-Kings out of parts of Saint John County, Kings County and a small portion of the eastern edge of the City of Saint John all in and around the Town of Rothesay, a bedroom community of Saint John. In 2006, its boundaries were reduced to be just Rothesay and its immediate surroundings so, as a result, its name was changed to Rothesay.

## 2012 by-election

Four-term incumbent Margaret-Ann Blaney, upon appointment as CEO of Efficiency NB, announced that she would resign the seat effective May 25, requiring a by-election to be called no later than November 25, 2012, which means an election will be held no later than December 31, 2012. On May 25, Premier of New Brunswick David Alward announced that the by-election would be held on June 25.
The incumbent Conservatives chose local lawyer and businessman Hugh John "Ted" Flemming III to be their candidate over local education council member Charlotte McGill Pierce. Flemming is the grandson and great-grandson of former premiers Hugh John Flemming and James Kidd Flemming respectively.
Media speculated whether one of the three candidates for the Liberal Party leadership or New Democratic leader Dominic Cardy will seek the seat in this by-election as none of them held seats in the legislative assembly. While none of the Liberal leadership candidates ran, NDP leader Cardy was acclaimed by his party. The People's Alliance of New Brunswick announced that they will not contest the election and endorsed Cardy's candidacy.
The Liberals chose retired police officer and clean water activist John Wilcox as their candidate over businessman Bill Gulliver by a margin of 81 to 49.
Sharon Murphy is the New Brunswick Green Party candidate and Marjorie MacMurray is running as an independent.

### Issues

Early media coverage of the race focussed on the controversial appointment of Margaret-Ann Blaney as CEO of Efficiency New Brunswick, a crown corporation. Several prominent Progressive Conservatives backed away from the issue with Finance Minister Blaine Higgs demurring "it's certainly incumbent on me, and it's incumbent on my colleagues, to respect the decision that the premier makes," and PC candidate Hugh John "Ted" Flemming III stating "I wasn't there." Premier David Alward, at the time of her appointment said "I have full confidence that I have the best person for the job," and Blaney noted that her motivation for taking the post arose in part from a desire to spend more time closer to family in the Saint John area, after a difficult year. The appointment was criticized as political patronage by the New Brunswick Liberal Association and the New Brunswick New Democratic Party who noted that prior to Blaney accepting the $150,000-175,000 per year position it had been carried out by the deputy minister of Environment and Local Government at no additional cost to the taxpayer. Deputy Premier Paul Robichaud offered competing explanations for the appointment suggesting that the deputy minister of Environment and Local Government responsibilities over Efficiency New Brunswick was only "a temporary position." Dominic Cardy, the New Democratic candidate, proposed a bill to end political patronage that would require positions such as CEO of Efficiency New Brunswick to be publicly competed.

## Members of the Legislative Assembly

| Assembly | Years | Member | Party |
| Saint John Kings Riding created from Kings West, Saint John-Fundy and East Saint John |||||
| 53rd | 1995–1999 | Laureen Jarrett | Liberal |
| 54th | 1999–2003 | Margaret-Ann Blaney | Progressive Conservative |
| 55th | 2003–2006 | Margaret-Ann Blaney | Progressive Conservative |
| Rothesay |||||
| 56th | 2006–2010 | Margaret-Ann Blaney | Progressive Conservative |
| 57th | 2010–2012 | Margaret-Ann Blaney | Progressive Conservative |
| 57th | 2012–2014 | Ted Flemming | Progressive Conservative |
| 58th | 2014–2018 | Ted Flemming | Progressive Conservative |
| 59th | 2018–2020 | Ted Flemming | Progressive Conservative |
| 60th | 2020–2024 | Ted Flemming | Progressive Conservative |
| 61st | 2024–Present | Alyson Townsend | Liberal |

## Election results
### Rothesay

2024 New Brunswick general election :
| ** Preliminary results — Not yet official ** |||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Alyson Townsend | 4,085 | 50.48 | +30.7 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Ted Flemming | 3,373 | 41.68 | -22.5 |
| | Green | Zara MacKay-Boyce | 549 | 6.78 | -2.3 |
| | Libertarian | Austin Venedam | 85 | 1.05 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 8,092 | 99.91 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 7 | 0.09 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,099 | 72.81 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 11,123 |
| | Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative | Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | Swing | +26.6 |
| Source: Elections New Brunswick |||||||
2020 provincial election redistributed results :
| Party | % |
| Progressive Conservative | 64.2 |
| Liberal | 19.8 |
| Green | 9.1 |
| People's Alliance | 5.2 |
| New Democratic | 0.6 |
| Independents | 1.1 |
2020 New Brunswick general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Ted Flemming | 4,265 | 61.28 | +11.30 |
| | Liberal | Jason Hickey | 1,463 | 21.02 | -7.21 |
| | Green | Ann McAllister | 719 | 10.33 | +2.27 |
| | People's Alliance | Michael Griffin | 413 | 5.93 | -4.25 |
| | Independent | Liz Kramer | 56 | 0.80 | |
| | Independent | N. B. Barnett | 44 | 0.63 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 6,960 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 14 | 0.20 | -0.11 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,974 | 63.22 | -0.31 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 11,031 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | +9.26 |
| Source: Elections New Brunswick |||||||
2018 New Brunswick general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Ted Flemming | 3,542 | 49.98 | +4.78 |
| | Liberal | Stephanie Tomilson | 2,001 | 28.23 | +0.85 |
| | People's Alliance | Michael Griffin | 722 | 10.19 | +10.19 |
| | Green | Ann McAllister | 571 | 8.06 | +3.86 |
| | New Democratic | Josh Floyd | 251 | 3.54 | -19.68 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 7,087 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 22 | 0.31 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,109 | 63.53 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 11,190 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | +1.97 |
| Source: Elections New Brunswick |||||||
2014 New Brunswick general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Hugh J. "Ted" Flemming | 3,034 | 45.20 | +6.94 |
| | Liberal | Stephanie Tomilson | 1,838 | 27.38 | -3.89 |
| | New Democratic | John Wilcox | 1,559 | 23.22 | -4.05 |
| | Green | Ann McAllister | 282 | 4.20 | +2.58 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 6,713 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 14 | 0.21 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,727 | 61.40 | +16.29 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 10,956 |
| | Progressive Conservative notional hold | Progressive Conservative notional hold | Swing | Swing | +5.42 |
| Source: Elections New Brunswick |||||||
New Brunswick provincial by-election, June 25, 2012 On the resignation of Margaret-Ann Blaney, May 16, 2012 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Hugh John "Ted" Flemming III | 1,625 | 38.26 | -18.31 |
| | Liberal | John Wilcox | 1,328 | 31.27 | +2.87 |
| | New Democratic | Dominic Cardy | 1,158 | 27.27 | +18.30 |
| | Green | Sharon Murphy | 69 | 1.62 | -4.43 |
| | Independent | Marjorie MacMurray | 62 | 1.46 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 4,242 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 11 | 0.26 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,253 | 45.11 | -22.10 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 9,428 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -10.63 |
| Source: Elections New Brunswick |||||||
2010 New Brunswick general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Margaret-Ann Blaney | 3,372 | 56.64 | +8.01 |
| | Liberal | Victoria Clarke | 1,690 | 28.39 | -18.74 |
| | New Democratic | Pamela Scichilone | 534 | 8.97 | +4.73 |
| | Green | Sharon Murphy-Flatt | 357 | 6.00 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 5,953 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 41 | 0.68 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,994 | 67.21 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 8,918 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | +13.38 |
| Source: Elections New Brunswick |||||||
2006 New Brunswick general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Margaret-Ann Blaney | 2,853 | 48.63 | +0.60 |
| | Liberal | Paul Barry | 2,765 | 47.13 | +9.50 |
| | New Democratic | Troy Polchies | 249 | 4.24 | -7.88 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 5,867 | 100.0 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -4.45 |
| Source: Elections New Brunswick |||||||

### Saint John-Kings

2003 New Brunswick general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Margaret-Ann Blaney | 3,135 | 48.03 | -17.56 |
| | Liberal | Tom Young | 2,456 | 37.63 | +12.68 |
| | New Democratic | Jeff Joseph Thibodeau | 791 | 12.12 | +2.66 |
| | Grey | Mark LeBlanc | 145 | 2.22 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 6,527 | 100.0 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -15.12 |
| Source: Elections New Brunswick |||||||
1999 New Brunswick general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Margaret-Ann Blaney | 4,605 | 65.59 | +29.62 |
| | Liberal | Zita Longobardi | 1,752 | 24.95 | -19.66 |
| | New Democratic | Ken Wilcox | 664 | 9.46 | -2.13 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 7,021 | 100.0 |
| | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | +24.64 |
| Source: Elections New Brunswick |||||||
1995 New Brunswick general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Laureen Jarrett | 3,176 | 44.61 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Bill Artiss | 2,561 | 35.97 |
| | New Democratic | Pam Coates | 825 | 11.59 |
| | Independent | Gary Ewart | 497 | 6.98 |
| | Natural Law | Allison Pring | 60 | 0.84 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 7,119 | 100.0 |
| | Liberal notional gain | Liberal notional gain | Swing | Swing |
| Independent candidate Gary Ewart was previously affiliated with the Confederation of Regions. |||||||
| Source: Elections New Brunswick |||||||
* This was a new district established in the New Brunswick electoral redistribution, 1994, when the old riding of Kings West was split between Hampton-Belleisle, Saint John-Kings and Kennebecasis.