Voters in two ridings in New Brunswick are heading to the polls on Monday in a byelection that will kick-off a busy political summer in the province.

Miramichi Bay–Neguac and Southwest Miramichi–Bay du Vin were vacated last year when their two MLAs, one a Liberal, the other a Progressive Conservative, quit provincial politics to take a run at federal office. As a result, these two neighbouring ridings will test the political waters in New Brunswick two years into Premier Blaine Higgs’s majority mandate.

Not only will the popularity of his PC government be put to the test, but we’ll also get our first signs of the impact of the (temporary) dissolution of the People’s Alliance, a populist party whose two MLAs crossed the floor to join the PC government earlier this year.

The Miramichi area just happens to be an area of strength for the People’s Alliance. Will their voters flock to the PCs, are stick with the new iteration of the People’s Alliance?

Then, in August the Liberals will be choosing their new leader. Whoever it is will take over a party running roughly even in the polls with the governing PCs. There are also questions over what’s next for the seatless NDP as their leader steps down (again).

So, lots to talk about.

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To break it all down, I’m joined this week by the CBC’s provincial affairs reporter in New Brunswick and author of The Right Fight, Jacques Poitras.

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