New Brunswick politicians are off and running now that Conservative Leader Bernard Lord has formally dissolved his shaky government majority and called an election for Sept. 18.

Lord visited the province's lieutenant-governor, Herménégilde Chiasson, at 4 p.m. AT to ask that the writ be dropped, and kicked off his campaign at a splashy launch an hour later in a private hangar at the Fredericton airport.

New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord and his wife Diane at Old Government House after asking the lieutenant-governor to dissolve the legislative assembly. A general election will be held on Monday Sept. 18.
(Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press)

"I am optimistic about the future of our province," said Lord, who was surrounded by cheering supporters. "New Brunswick is on a roll and the results are coming in."

The province is enjoying its lowest unemployment rates in 30 years, lower taxes and balanced budgets, he said. "These are real results that make a difference in people's lives."

He took direct aim at the Liberals, saying the party is consumed by petty politics, their own ambition and themselves.

New Brunswick Liberal Leader Shawn Graham speaks with reporters before boarding his campaign bus Friday, in anticipation of the election call.
(Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press)

Lord, nearly three and a half years into his second mandate, is seeking a third straight term.

As for the Liberals, their big red campaign bus began rolling across the province mid-afternoon on Friday, and Liberal Leader Shawn Graham was to speak at a news conference in Moncton.

Let the politics begin

The Liberal party was first off the mark on launch day, rolling out a plan to scrap gasoline regulation and pledging to build a new community college campus in Fredericton.

NDP Leader Allison Brewer is planning a modest campaign kickoff with an event at the University of New Brunswick's grad house on Saturday evening. The party did not hold any seats at dissolution, and Brewer is hanging her best hopes on winning her own riding of Fredericton-Lincoln.

Despite the lack of voter support historically for the NDP, Brewer is hoping New Brunswickers will give the party a chance.

"I sense that there is quite a bit of dissatisfaction with the other two parties," she said. "I don't think the Lord government has exactly distinguished itself, particularly in the last sitting of the legislature. I don't think the Liberals have done much better.

"What we need is a different voice in there, that speaks for working families, speaks for the seniors, speaks for the environment, and speaks for a whole lot of issues that aren't being talked about right now."

This weekend will be a blitz of campaign stops and nominating conventions for all three parties, though most acknowledge the race will be a contest between the Liberals and Tories, who were just two seats apart in the last legislative session.

Hanging by a thread

Lord's Tory government has barely hung onto power during the last seven months, with his razor-thin majority seesawing to a minority as former Miramichi MLA Michael (Tanker) Malley swung between the party and sitting as an Independent member.

Malley eventually rejoined the caucus after Lord tabled a generous budget, and he was named Speaker, providing the Tories with a one-seat majority. That breathing room evaporated last week when Tantramar MLA Peter Mesheau took a job in the private sector.

Even though the election has just begun officially, both parties have been campaigning relentlessly for weeks.

The Tories have criss-crossed the province with $100-million worth of spending announcements over the last two weeks.

The Liberals have also already released parts of their economic and energy platforms, with leader Shawn Graham pledging to spend on serious matters of interest to New Brunswickers.

"It's a great day to start an election campaign in New Brunswick, a campaign that will be focused on the issues," Graham said Friday morning. "The issues we are defining pertain to energy, education and the economy."