1987 New Brunswick general election

The popularity of Richard Hatfield, who had served as a popular premier from 1970 through the 1982 election, fell due to scandals in his last term. In 1984, during an official visit to New Brunswick by Queen Elizabeth II, Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers found marijuana in Hatfield's luggage. Hatfield was later acquitted of marijuana possession charges. As reported by the media, Hatfield was also alleged to have hosted parties with young men where illegal drugs were used.[1] He was criticized by opposition parties and by the media for extravagant use of the government plane, which he used to travel to New York City where he visited night clubs, earning him the nickname "Disco Dick".[2]

In 1985, three Saint John-area Progressive Conservative members of the legislature (MLAs) challenged Hatfield's leadership and led a brief caucus revolt after the Liberals won two by-elections in previously Tory seats, but Hatfield led the party through a fifth election.

Hoping to boost his popularity enough to avoid defeat, Hatfield delayed calling the election as long as possible. It was finally held on October 13, 1987, five years and a day since the last election—the longest allowed by the Constitution of Canada. The Tories lost all of their seats, and Hatfield himself lost his own seat to Liberal challenger Allison DeLong by a staggering 19 points. Taking full responsibility for the defeat, he announced his resignation the night of the election while being interviewed by media outside of his Hartland home. Tory supporters had crowded into Hatfield's home, but abandoned him early in the evening as the returns began to come in.

Frank McKenna's Liberals were virtually assured victory from day one, thanks to Hatfield's scandals. However, they ran a very successful campaign that enabled them to garner an unprecedented clean sweep of the legislature. The New Democrats also suffered a moral defeat, losing their one seat—something they had won for the first time in 1982.

Sources

• Government of New Brunswick. "Thirty-First General Election, 1987, Report of the Chief Electoral Officer" (PDF). Elections Statistics. Elections New Brunswick. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2012-10-28.