Woodstock, Southern Victoria, Lakeland Ridges see big changes
The 2026 New Brunswick Municipal Elections are over, and three St. John River Valley municipalities have new mayors and almost entirely new councils.
WOODSTOCK
In Woodstock, incumbent Trina Jones lost to Jeff Wright by 519 votes on Monday, May 11. The voter turnout was over 46 per cent. Most incumbent councillors lost their seats. Ward 1 incumbent Michael Martin lost to May Atkinson. In Ward 2, Will Belyea was re-elected, beating out Marlene Hassard by 40 votes. The top four results from Ward 4 mean that Arthur Slipp, Mark Rogers (inc.), John Dolimount and Laura Gaddas will sit around the council table. In Ward 5, Keith Bull took top spot with 295 votes against Lorne Leech’s (inc.) 255, and Robin Antworth’s 101 votes.
Woodstock’s voter turnout showed how tuned in the public was during this race. The Meet the Candidates night was standing room only, with hundreds cramming into the Gallery Room at the AYR Motor Centre. More than 46 per cent of voters cast ballots this year.
LAKELAND RIDGES
In Lakeland Ridges, the new mayor is Greg Grant, who beat incumbent Leonard Foster by 205 votes. Their council table will only include one incumbent, Barb Glanville. Others around the table include Elizabeth Luimes (acc.), Hans Stevens (acc.), Lisa Antworth, Judy Cole, Rhonda Alward, Stephen Manuel, and Tanya Cloutier. Lakeland Ridges had a rocky start to amalgamation, with outside management brought in due to council dysfunction. That may have played a role in this election’s high turnout. Lakeland Ridges had nearly 47 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots.
SOUTHERN VICTORIA
Tamara Titus McPhail has been elected as the new mayor of Southern Victoria. Titus McPhail ousted incumbent Cindy McLaughlin by 22 votes. That race proved contentious, with a lot of chatter in the community about targeted political support. With such a close race, some suggest a recount might be requested. The hotly contested seat is likely part of the reason the community has the highest voter turnout in the region, with a whopping 57 percent of voters casting ballots – nearly 20 points above the provincial average. Only one incumbent is returning. Southern Victoria’s governing table will have Rodney Brayall, Joe Gee, Ethan Shaw, Tommy Dixon, Sheila Cummings (inc.), and Miranda Francis-Perley around it.
DISTRICT OF CARLETON NORTH
In the District of Carleton North (DCN), Mayor Andrew Harvey was easily re-elected, defeating Charles MacDonald by more than 1,000 votes. All but one of DCN’s incumbent councillors are returning. Their council table will include Karen Hargrove (inc.), Laurel Bradstreet (inc.), Michael Stewart (inc.), Tammy Nicholson-Kirkland, Scott Oakes (inc.), Ryan Dickinson (inc.), and Angel Connor. DCN’s voter turnout was 40 per cent.
HARTLAND
In Hartland, there were only a few changes. Tracey DeMerchant (inc.) was acclaimed as mayor, and Jason Smith (inc.) was acclaimed in Ward 1. In the Councillor At Large position, incumbents Stewart Fairgrieve and Lee Patterson return, with new councillor Tanya Hawkes. In Ward 2, George Boone returns to the table after being challenged by Greg Crouse. Incumbent Sam Walton lost his Ward 3 seat to Charlie Webber by 9 votes. In Hartland, voter turnout was only 28 per cent.
NACKAWIC-MILLVILLE
In Nackawic-Millville, there were only two races. Ward 1 saw Stephen Ouellet win over Anthony Moorcroft by 26 votes. In Ward 4, Colin Trail kept his seat, winning against Bev Forbes by 14 votes. The lack of races led to a low voter turnout. Less than 18 per cent of voters went to the polls this election.
Watch the River Valley Sun’s website in the coming days for a complete analysis from each municipality. Don’t forget to pick up our paper on Friday, May 15, for complete coverage.
Below are the unofficial results as captured from the ElectionsNB website:
Southern Victoria (COMPLETE RESULTS):
Mayor:
Cindy McLaughlin (inc.): 550
Tamara Titus McPhail: 572 (Elected)
At Large (1 to elect):
Roney Brayall: 721 (Elected)
Jason Martin: 366
Ward 1 (1 to elect):
Joe Gee: 101 (Elected)
Todd McGuire (inc.): 97
Ward 2 (3 to elect):
Sheila Cummings (inc.): 402 (Elected)
Tommy Dixon: 427 (Elected)
Paul Legace (inc.): 361
Ethan Shaw: 499 (Elected)
Daniel Sooley: 182
Ward 3 (1 to elect):
Miranda Francis-Perley: 104 (Elected)
Sara Plant (inc.): 103
District of Carleton North (COMPLETE RESULTS):
Mayor:
Andrew Harvey (inc.): 1861 (Elected)
Charles MacDonald: 789
At Large (2 to elect):
Laurel Bradstreet (inc.): 1604 (Elected)
Jayne Geddes: 353
Karen Hargrove (inc.): 1697 (Elected)
Kirby Jensen: 442
David Trafford: 717
Ward 1 (1 to elect):
Nick Anderson: 47
Lottie Nye: 123
Michael Stewart (inc.): 226 (Elected)
Ward 2 (1 to elect):
Tammy Nicholson-Kirkland: 132 (Elected)
Chris O’Donnell: 72
Connie Smith: 56
Chala Watson (inc.): 118
Ward 3 (1 to elect):
Stephen Armour: 152
Ed Boyd: 65
Scott Oakes (inc.): 579 (Elected)
Ward 4 (1 to elect):
Jillenne Denny: 292
Ryan Dickinson (inc.): 361 (Elected)
Ward 5 (1 to elect):
Gailen Allan: 176
Angel Connor (inc.): 260 (Elected)
Hartland (COMPLETE RESULTS):
Mayor:
Tracey DeMerchant (inc.): Acclaimed
At Large (3 to elect):
Stewart Fairgrieve (inc.): 512 (Elected)
Tanya Hawkes: 428 (Elected)
Emily Nigro: 384
Lee Patterson (inc.): 515 (Elected)
Ward 1 (1 to elect):
Jason Smith (inc.): Acclaimed
Ward 2 (1 to elect):
George Boone (inc.): 215 (Elected)
Greg Crouse: 98
Ward 3 (1to elect):
Samuel Walton (inc.): 136
Charlie Webber: 147 (Elected)
Woodstock (COMPLETE RESULTS):
MAYOR:
Trina Jones (inc.): 1570
Noah J. Walton: 164
Jeff Wright: 2085 (Elected)
Ward 1 (1 to elect):
May Atkinson: 294 (Elected)
Michael Martin (inc.): 192
Ward 2 (1 to elect):
Will Belyea (inc.): 249 (Elected)
Marlene Hassard: 209
Ward 3 (1 to elect):
Catherine Ann Davies: 159
Scott Dunlop: 280 (Elected)
Ward 4 (4 to elect):
Ken Anthony: 285
Jeff Bradbury (inc.): 700
Norm Brown (inc.): 641
John Dolimount: 830 (Elected)
Laura Gaddas: 711 (Elected)
Leslie Ann Hawkes: 147
Christa McCartney (inc.): 415
Mark Rogers (inc.): 864 (Elected)
Susan Ryan: 550
Arthur Slipp: 972 (Elected)
Ward 5 (1 to elect):
Robin Antworth: 101
Keith Bull: 295 (Elected)
Lorne Leech (inc.): 255
Lakeland Ridges (COMPLETE RESULTS):
Mayor:
Leonard Foster (inc.): 333
Gregory Grant: 538 (Elected)
Ward 1 (2 to elect):
Elizabeth Luimes: Acclaimed
Hans Stevens: Acclaimed
Ward 2 (2 to elect):
Lisa Antworth: 121 (Elected)
Judy Cole: 164 (Elected)
Linda Porter (inc.): 119
Ward 3 (2 to elect):
Rhonda Alward: 192 (Elected)
Stephen Manuel: 149 (Elected)
Karen Patterson: 54
Randy Stairs (inc.): 86
Sterling Wright: 25
Chris Yerxa (inc.): 40
Ward 4 (2 to elect):
J.J. (Governor) Carrier: 12
Tanya Cloutier: 180 (Elected)
Barb Glanville (inc.): 133 (Elected)
Heather Neilson: 89
Shawn Oldenburg: 41
Nackawic-Millville (COMPLETE RESULTS):
Mayor:
Tim Fox (inc.): Acclaimed
Ward 1 (1 to elect):
Anthony Moorcroft: 62
Stephen Ouellet: 88 (Elected)
Ward 2 (1 to elect):
Jeff Clark (inc.): Acclaimed
Ward 3 (2 to elect):
Floyd D’entremont: Acclaimed
Greg MacFarlane (inc.): Acclaimed
Ward 4 (1 to elect):
Beverly Forbes: 78
Colin Trail (inc.): 92 (Elected)
Ward 5 (1 to elect):
Steven Simpson Meldrum (inc.): Acclaimed
Ward 6 (1 to elect):
Errol Graham (inc.): Acclaimed
DISTRICT EDUCATION COUNCIL (COMPLETE RESULTS):
(Subdistrict 3 (Woodstock & Hartland) is the only district in our coverage area with a race)
Candice Browse (inc.): 1434 (Elected)
James Chisholm: 1355
