Whatever else happens in the New Brunswick general election on Monday, September 14, Saint Croix will not get a Liberal MLA. Party leader Kevin Vickers issued a statement on September 7 cutting ties with candidate John Gardner because of a Facebook post nearly two years ago criticizing the village of Chipman for giving in to pressure to take down a "straight flag" after allowing it to fly for one day.
      Vickers describes Gardner's comments as "offensive to both women and the LGBTQ2I+ community and not in keeping with the values of the New Brunswick Liberal Party. As a result, we will be cutting ties with the candidate."
      The deadline for nominating another candidate had passed already. "It is unfortunate the people of St. Croix will not have the choice to vote Liberal in this important election. But once the comments came to light we quickly informed the candidate we would be moving ahead without him." Vickers writes.
      Gardner, a former Progressive Conservative whom Vickers personally asked to seek the Liberal nomination, is now running as an independent, billing himself "the St. Croix candidate." Votes for Gardner will still count regardless of his status with the Liberal or any other party, says Paul Harpelle at Elections New Brunswick.
      Some people might find it ironic when Gardner states that he is, in fact, gay. "I myself am part of the LGBT community and work in a business where we fly the rainbow flag, not as a right but as an identity," he posted on Facebook the same day that Vickers cut him loose. Gardner confirms in an interview that he has lived in a common law relationship with a man since 2016 "and we're getting married on Saturday."
      Civic officials in Chipman said in 2018 that they let the straight flag fly under rules allowing different groups and organizations equal access to the municipal flagpole. It came down the next day following an outcry that the flag promoted hatred towards an identifiable group.
      Gardner argued in a Facebook post on October 22, 2018, that Chipman should have allowed the straight flag to fly. "They talk of the rainbow flag being one of inclusion, yet let another group have equal time, and they hit the bigot button. I say if the straight flag is not allowed, then they should not be flying the LGBT one. Fair is fair," he posted.
      "Everybody deserves to have an opinion and to have a voice. I need to respect whoever you are, right? Just because you don't agree with what I say doesn't make you wrong," Gardner continued. "If I want respect as a gay man, I have got to give respect." He would allow others to fly the straight flag as long as they let him fly the rainbow flag and nobody incites hatred, he said.
      "I understand their point of view. I grew up in a Christian home," says Gardner, who was born and raised in McAdam. "We need to respect each other, we need to work with each other, we need to build a better life."
      Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has cut ties with candidate Roland Michaud in Victoria La Vallée in the upper Saint John Valley for reposting a meme that could be interpreted as promoting violence towards transgender people. Higgs has said Michaud will not join the party caucus if he wins the Victoria La Vallée seat. Michaud publicly apologized for reposting the Facebook message but is still running as an independent.
      Candidates can withdraw from the election up to 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 12, but neither Gardner nor Michaud has done that as of September 8, Harpelle confirms. Whether they withdraw or not, their names and former party labels will appear on the ballots, which are already printed, Harpelle says.

Many vote in advance
      More than 92,000 people across New Brunswick voted in advance polls, well beyond the 60,000 who had voted by the same point in the 2018 provincial general election, Harpelle reports. He cautions that this does not necessarily mean a heavier turnout than in 2018 because Elections New Brunswick encouraged people to vote in the two days of advance polls to limit the potential of spreading COVID 19. This is Canada's first provincial general election since the pandemic struck. There are about 360,000 registered voters across the province. Turnout in 2018 reached 66.4%.

Candidates in area ridings
      In Saint Croix, which includes St. Andrews, St. Stephen, McAdam, Campobello Island and a large rural area, voters have a choice between Progressive Conservative Kathy Bockus, New Democrat Brad McKinney, Green Kim Reeder, People's Alliance Rod Cumberland and the now independent Gardner.
      Next door in Fundy The Isles Saint John West, which includes St. George, Blacks Harbour, Grand Manan, Deer Island, parts of West Saint John and a large rural area, voters can pick between the incumbent, Progressive Conservative Andrea Anderson Mason -- who happens to be Gardner's second cousin -- Liberal Tony Mann, New Democrat Sharon R. Greenlaw, Green Lois P. Mitchell and People's Alliance Vincent P. Edgett.
      On another matter, Harpelle says Elections New Brunswick has yet to hear from the Department of Environment and Local Government on setting a date for a civic byelection on Campobello Island, where the rural community council no longer has a quorum.