Dominic Cardy announced his intention to seek the New Brunswick NDP leadership race on Tuesday.

Cardy, who was the party's campaign director in the 2010 election, became the first contender to replace former leader Roger Duguay.

Cardy told a news conference that he wants to continue the message of fiscal responsibility that Duguay put forward on the campaign trail.

"The message that he started to develop, and that I think resonated quite strongly with the people in the province, was the theme of fiscal responsibility, of linking government programs to the financial base that the province rests upon," Cardy said.

"And creating a competing environment for business, and so rather than doing anything particularly differently, I just want to take what Roger Duguay started and do it more, and faster."

Duguay resigned the leader's position in October about a month after he failed to win a seat in the legislative assembly.

He placed second to Tory MLA Claude Landry in the northeastern riding of Tracadie-Sheila.

The NDP has been shutout of the legislative assembly since 2005 when former leader, Elizabeth Weir, resigned to become the president and chief executive officer of Efficiency New Brunswick.

Although the party did not win a seat, the NDP did pull 10.3 per cent of the popular vote, which is double what it received in the 2006 election.

Leadership convention in April

The NDP will elect its new leader in April.

Cardy has the support of a dozen NDP candidates who ran in the Sept. 27 election.

He said he'll work aggressively to put a strong organization in place if he wins the top job.

"I will be a strong leader for a strong party, a party that can win elections and change this province," Cardy said.

"That is why political parties exist: to win. And the NDP under my leadership will be dedicated to that goal."