January 2022 Nova Anglican People's Party leadership election
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Leader of the Nova Anglican People's Party | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 78.6% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The January 2022 Nova Anglican People's Party leadership election to elect a leader for the Nova Anglican People's Party was held in January 2022, following the resignation of Michael Ramsey as party leader.
Background
In late 2021, influential members of the Nova Anglican People's Party pressured Party Leader Michael Ramsey to resign from that position. He had been defeated in the 2021 House of Deputies election, with the party plunging to just 24 seats, their worst-ever result. After initially vowing to fight on, when presented with what amounted to a rebellion of much of the party apparatus, Ramsey agreed to resign. The PP's first-past-the-post election involved all party members nationwide. It was initially expected to be a runaway victory for the young, libertarian-leaning, Deputy Leader Melody Savoy, who many thought would represent a new face for the party. However, following criticism that she was running an empty campaign, and especially leaked texts from Libertarian Party members that seemed to imply she would be in lockstep with their positions, the field tightened. Also in the race were Ramsey loyalist and former Justice Minister Edmund Baird, former Health Minister and nonprofit CEO Kelly Goodman, and the Premier of New Brunswick, Arsène Deslauriers. The race also turned on candidates' support or opposition to Ramsey
Electoral system
The leader is decided in a first-past-the-post vote of People's Party members. In order to appear on the ballot, a candidate must secure support from twenty-five percent of the parliamentary caucus. The PP has 33 members of Parliament (24 Deputies and 9 Senators), so the threshold was set at nine members. Caucus members are allowed to support multiple candidates.
Candidates and slogans
| Candidate | Slogan |
|---|---|
| Arsène Deslauriers | For a new, popular centre Pour un nouveau centre populaire |
| Melody Savoy | Freedom above all La liberté avant tout |
| Edmund Baird | The true conservative Le vrai conservateur |
| Kelly Goodman | Let's make the right choice Faisons le bon choix |
Results
Final results saw Arsène Deslauriers emerge victorious with 31.48% of the vote, surpassing Melody Savoy by 36,646 votes, or 3.05% of the total tally. In the end, political pundits attributed his victory to strong turnout among Francophone voters, his election success in New Brunswick, and the party's desire for a fresh face. Exit polls showed Deslauriers taking three-fifths of the Francophone vote, with Savoy pulling only a quarter, a huge downfall for the woman born in Quebec. Deslauriers was also the only PP Premier to survive the 2021 election, with all other provincial party leaders falling to second place. His back-to-back wins in New Brunswick inspired voters to believe that he had what it took to win a national election. Additionally, Deslauriers was open about the party's need to present a new image, calling many times during the campaign for a "new, popular centre." After Ramsey's defeat was largely attributed to his increasingly right-wing rhetoric, Deslauriers presented a much more centre-right profile in the leadership election, calling for reform rather than radical change, and being open to immigration and the EU, unlike Ramsey.
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Arsène Deslauriers | 379,229 | 31.48 |
| Melody Savoy | 342,583 | 28.43 |
| Edmund Baird | 254,621 | 21.13 |
| Kelly Goodman | 228,468 | 18.96 |
| Total | 1,204,901 | 100.0 |