Another former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister is getting behind the Liberals in the provincial election.

Brenda Fowlie, who represented the riding of Kennebecasis from 1999 to 2006 and served in the cabinet of PC Premier Bernard Lord, is endorsing Quispamsis Liberal candidate Aaron Kennedy against his PC opponent, party leader Blaine Higgs.

"I made this decision basically because I'm very disappointed in Blaine Higgs," Fowlie said.

"I thought he was doing a very good job until he got a majority" in 2020, she added, citing issues including the cost of living and Policy 713.

Aaron Kennedy, Liberal candidate for Quispamsis, poses with Brenda Fowlie, a former PC cabinet minister. (Photo submitted by Aaron Kennedy)

Fowlie's backing means there are three former PC ministers supporting or running as Liberal candidates in three contiguous ridings along Route 1 in the Kennebecasis Valley.

Former Higgs cabinet minister Gary Crossman has endorsed Liberal John Herron in Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins. 

And next door in Sussex-Three Rivers, Bruce Northrup, who was a minister in the David Alward PC government, is running as a Liberal against incumbent Tammy Scott-Wallace.

Fowlie was part of Lord's 1999 landslide victory.

On election night in 2003, she was declared the winner by 16 votes, a margin that increased to 18 after an official recount.

That gave Lord's PCs 28 seats compared to 26 for the Liberals and one for the NDP — giving him a narrow majority in the legislature instead of a minority government.

"Every vote counts," Fowlie said. "I'll make mine count."

Professor warns of online disinformation

With campaigning for the Oct. 21 election in full swing, a sociology professor is warning about online disinformation.

Erin Steuter, a Mount Allison University professor and the author of We Get Fooled Again: A Graphic Guide to Fake News, said that around election time, people are especially "hungry for news," so it's a prime opportunity for disrupters to spread misinformation.

"There's a lot more eyeballs out there looking for information," she said.

Steuter said there is also a difference between misinformation and disinformation. Misinformation, she said, tends to be spread when people don't have all the information yet. Disinformation is more intentional and is purposefully spread to mislead others.

           Erin Steuter, Mount Allison University sociology professor, said it's important that people don't shut down and stop consuming news out of fear of disinformation. (Jeremy Boorne/Submitted)

For example, Steuter said, some people might spread disinformation about the location of a polling station to try to stop people from having the information they need to be able to vote.

The most widespread disinformation, she said, typically is spread by automated bots on sites such as X, formerly Twitter. She said these bots can put out hundreds to thousands of pieces of information, while also being highly trained to mimic human conversations and interactions.

But people often will be more skeptical when faced with interactions such as these, she said.

Her real concern is about fake profiles intercepting community groups, such as those on Facebook.

Upon further inspection, Steuter said, people might realize that the person is not a member of their community — their profile picture may be a stock image or their social media handle may be in use elsewhere or another reason — but because they were posing as a community member, it may have lent more credibility or leeway to their views. 

What really worries Steuter is that, out of fear of being fooled, people may "go on a news-free diet at the exact moment that they need to be…bulking up on news." 

"You need people to be informed, you need people to be, you know, up on what the policy positions are of the different candidates," Steuter said. "And so this is the time when you really need to be consuming the news and talking with other people about the news and not shutting down.

"An election in which no one is informed is the worst possible outcome."

Standings at dissolution: PCs 25, Liberals 16, Greens 3, Independent 1, vacant 4

Where the leaders are today

Green Leader David Coon is in Memramcook for an announcement about heritage buildings.

Liberal Leader Susan Holt is in St. Stephen for an announcement about supporting doctors.

Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs has no campaign events scheduled today.

For complete coverage: Links to ll New Brunswick Votes 2024 stories