Serge Brideau of the folk-rock band Les Hôtesses d'Hilaire confirmed he will be nominated for the Greens in the April 24 contest in Bathurst East-Nepisiguit-Saint-Isidore. 

It's one of three byelections on that date and it gives Holt, who is from Fredericton, a chance to get into the New Brunswick legislature. 

But Brideau said the Liberals take the votes of francophones and Acadians for granted, and he plans to challenge Holt on her party's track record when it was in power.

Liberal Leader Susan Holt, who will be running in Bathurst East-Nepisiguit-Saint-Isidore, said it was hard to say whether Brideau’s profile would make it harder for her to win the seat. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

"I have a lot of questions and I'm really curious to see what kind of answers Madame Holt is going to give me in terms of the past of the Liberals," he said.

"The inaction of the Liberals is the reason people are dying in the waiting rooms of emergency rooms. The inaction of the Liberals is the cause of many of our problems today." 

The Progressive Conservatives aren't running a candidate against Holt, making Brideau her most credible opponent.

The singer is critical of how PC and Liberal governments, and Holt, have encouraged the development of a blueberry industry in the Acadian Peninsula.

He's been part of protests over sections of a former firing range near Tracadie, now used by snowmobilers and four-wheeler drivers, being turned over for blueberry farming.

Brideau became notorious in 2019 when he flashed a middle finger and criticized Premier Blaine Higgs with improvised song lyrics during a nationally televised National Acadian Day concert.

The singer, who later became a board member and vice-president of the Acadian Society of New Brunswick, said he'd avoid that kind of behaviour as an MLA.

"I was an artist. I was not representing anybody but my band. Those actions were taken as an artist, as a provocation," he said.

"I do understand that there's a away of doing politics that I was not aware of before. … I understand that if you want to push forward an issue, there's a way of speaking to politicians and a way of negotiating. I don't think the assembly is a circus, and I certainly respect the assembly." 

Holt said it was hard to say whether Brideau's profile would make it harder for her to win the seat.

"We're going to work hard to earn the confidence of people here," she said.

Three byelections will be held on April 24 in three ridings with strong Liberal histories: Bathurst East-Nepisiguit-Saint-Isidore, Restigouche-Chaleur and Dieppe.

The NDP's interim leader, Alex White of Saint John, is also running in Bathurst East-Nepisiguit-Saint-Isidore.