•
David Alward, MLA since 1999, in cabinet 2003–2006. Announced his candidacy on June 19, 2008. ::Caucus supporters (10 + himself):
Jody Carr,
Paul Robichaud,
Tony Huntjens,
Dale Graham,
Trevor Holder,
Percy Mockler,
Rose-May Poirier,
Claude Landry,
Carl Urquhart ::Member of Parliament Supporters (1):
Mike Allen •
Robert MacLeod, former president of party (2007–2008) and son of former
interim leader Malcolm MacLeod. Announced his candidacy on July 28, 2008. ::Caucus supporters (7):
John Betts,
Bruce Fitch,
Bev Harrison,
Kirk MacDonald,
Bruce Northrup,
Wayne Steeves,
Claude Williams ::Member of Parliament Supporters (1):
Rob Moore Withdrawn •
Bruce Fitch, MLA since 2003, in cabinet 2003–2006. Announced his candidacy on July 14, 2008. Fitch withdrew on September 22 and endorsed MacLeod.
Non candidates The following individuals were subject of media attention as possible leadership candidates but did not run: •
Keith Ashfield, MLA since 1999, in cabinet 2003–2006. Mentioned as a "less likely" potential candidate from caucus, but has since decided to seek the nomination to be the
Conservative Party of Canada candidate for
Fredericton in the
next federal election. •
Margaret-Ann Blaney, former leadership candidate in 1997, MLA since 1999, in cabinet 1999–2006. Promoted as a potential candidate by former party president
Lisa Keenan but stated she would not be a candidate in November 2007. She is serving as neutral co-chair of the election. •
Jody Carr, MLA since 1999, in cabinet 2006. When Lord resigned, CBC News reported that he was the only potential candidate indicating a serious look at a Leadership bid and said he would discuss the possibility with his wife. However, he was announced as
David Alward's leadership campaign manager on June 19, 2008. •
Madeleine Dubé, MLA since 1999, in cabinet 2003–2006. Mentioned as a "less likely" potential candidate from caucus, however she has since become
de facto deputy leader of the opposition and is often referred to by her Liberal opponents as seeking the job and using her higher profile in caucus to improve her chances over her colleagues. She was mentioned again as a potential candidate after the PC annual meeting in late October 2007. and launched a website to explore the possibility on July 30, 2008. However, on August 15, 2008, he announced he would not be a candidate. Following his decision not to run Hatheway publicly endorsed
David Alward's Leadership bid. •
Trevor Holder, MLA since 1999, in cabinet 2005–2006. When Lord resigned, CBC News reported that Holder's candidacy was being promoted by former party president
Lisa Keenan and was supported by the PC riding president in
Fundy-River Valley. •
Kirk MacDonald, MLA since 1999, in cabinet 2006. Merrithew, who is fluently bilingual and was brought in to improve the communications of Premier Bernard Lord's government did oversee the PC Party retaking the lead in opinion polls for the first time in three years and they went on to win the popular vote and narrowly lose the election. Merrithew works at
Fleishman-Hillard. She was mentioned again as potential a candidate after the PC annual meeting in late October 2007. •
Percy Mockler, MLA from 1982–1987 and again since 1994, in cabinet 1999–2006. Mentioned as a "less likely" candidate from caucus. the Telegraph-Journal reported that he was the first caucus member to rule out a run. Despite his initial indication he would not run, on July 2, 2008 it was reported that Robichaud said his inclination to be a candidate was "more yes than no". However, on August 18, 2008, he announced he would not be a candidate. On September 4, 2008 Robichaud announced that he would be supporting
David Alward. •
John Thompson, CEO of
Enterprise Greater Moncton. Reported in July 2008 to be "mulling things over" about a potential run. Thompson did not enter the race. •
Jeannot Volpé was elected as
interim leader on December 19, 2006 and indicated he will not seek the leadership on a permanent basis. [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/former-finance-minister-steps-up-to-replace-lord-1.608957 •
Claude Williams, MLA since 2001, in cabinet 2006. Mentioned as a "less likely" potential candidate from caucus, however he was mentioned again as a potential candidate after the PC annual meeting in late October 2007. However, he endorsed MacLeod on the day that the latter entered the race. ==Results==