Saint John saw nearly a three per cent increase in voter participation in this municipal election.
The Human Development Council says it reflects growing interest in local issues and a stronger desire to vote.
On May 11, New Brunswickers headed to the polls to elect their next municipal governments. Across the province, several major cities saw competitive mayoral races, including three candidates in Fredericton and four in Moncton.
Saint John also had a three-way mayoral race, with incumbent Donna Reardon facing Coun. Barry Ogden and business owner Blaine Harris. The city council race was similarly competitive, with five of 10 incumbent councillors choosing not to run.
Overall, voter turnout in Saint John reached 37.4 per cent — up 2.8 percentage points from 34.5 per cent in 2021. HDC executive director Randy Hatfield said the contested mayoral race, multiple open council seats and ward-level issues all contributed to the increase.
“Turnout rate in municipal campaigns is very low in Canada, and New Brunswick is no exception, and Saint John is no exception,” he said. “But it seems voter turnout rate [in Saint John] has almost returned to 2016 level, so it’s trending in the right direction. It’s moving up and I’m glad for that.”
HDC data shows turnout was about 38 per cent in 2016.
Hatfield noted turnout is influenced by several factors, including socioeconomic conditions. Research shows older people, university graduates, employed individuals and homeowners are more likely to vote.
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This helps explain differences across wards. Ward 3 recorded the lowest turnout at 28.4 per cent, compared to 47.8 per cent in Ward 1, 37 per cent in Ward 2 and 36.1 per cent in Ward 4. Ward 3 includes the lower west side, the South Central Peninsula and Waterloo Village — areas with higher poverty rates and three of the city’s five priority neighbourhoods.
“The literature suggest that people on low incomes don’t vote as often as folks who have more money,” Hatfield said.
Higher turnout in Ward 1 was driven by different issues. Hatfield said concerns about homelessness and affordability played a role citywide, but opposition to Beacon AI’s proposed data centre was a key factor in Ward 1.
“The data centre issue I think that probably propelled one of the ward councillors to victory,” he said. “It certainly had a large turnout when we did municipal forums for the ward.”
To help inform voters, HDC launched the Saint John Votes 2026 campaign on April 16 in partnership with Civic Tech Saint John. The initiative provided information on candidates and hosted six livestreamed forums featuring questions from residents.
Hatfield said the Ward 1 forum drew the largest audience, reflecting strong public interest in the data centre debate. Ward 1 ultimately elected incumbent Coun. Greg Norton and newcomer Sherri Colwell-McCavour, who campaigned on responsible growth and addressing residents’ concerns.
Hatfield added that low turnout can sometimes signal voter satisfaction. For example, it would explain why Quispamsis and Rothesay reelected the same council for this term.
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However, Hatfield said several results pointed to a desire for change in Saint John: incumbent councillors Mariah Darling and Paula Radwan lost their seats, and candidates Blaine Harris and Barry Ogden together received more votes than incumbent mayor Donna Reardon.
“If you look at the data, you could probably argue that there was a level of dissatisfaction or frustration that drove more people to the polls this time,” he added.
