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Cheers erupted in the Sunny Brae Legion hall as Elections N.B.'s website updated with the final results showing Shawn Crossman elected as Moncton's next mayor. 

"Mayor Crossman!" Paul Richard shouted as he walked up to Crossman and embraced him. Richard was re-elected in Ward 4 and was among several returning or newly elected councillors celebrating with Crossman. 

Marty Kingston, re-elected as councillor-at-large, was also there as was Mike Gaudet, the new councillor-elect for Ward 1.

Gaudet won in the ward Crossman had represented since 2012. 

Crossman gave a quick speech to the remaining supporters — some had already left after Brian Murphy conceded. 

"I just want to thank everybody for their support," Crossman said. "I want to thank the citizens of Moncton for giving me the honour to lead this city forward in the next four years with a strong and united council, and focused on community."

After his speech, outgoing Coun. Daniel Bourgeois walked into the legion hall to congratulate Crossman. 

Fredericton was a total two-way race, but Steve Hicks led Jenica Atwin most of the night. Atwin made up a little ground on the last poll, but it was a steep hill to climb.  

Hicks won with 10,239 votes to Atwin’s 8,604. John M. Reid was a distant third with 379 votes.

And in Moncton, it was a tight race to the end. Moncton flip-flopped early in the night, as Shawn Crossman and Brian Murphy battled it out for the win, with Crossman winning by just 294 votes or 1.7 percentage points. 

Crossman won with 37.7 per cent, with Murphy coming a close second with 36 per cent. Charles Léger came third with 24 per cent and Jeffrey McCluskey was last with 2.3 per cent.

Saint John was a three-way race, but incumbent Donna Reardon was in the lead all night, finishing seven points ahead of Barry Ogden, who finished seven points ahead of Blaine Harris.

Tonight’s elections mark a return to normalcy to three rural municipalities that have been without an elected mayor or council for months after the Local Governance Commission appointed supervisors in their place. The step was taken because the councils had too many people resign and could no longer function.

Strait Shores, located near the Confederation Bridge, saw former acting mayor Annamarie Lynn Boyd win by a narrow margin. The municipality has been without any council for just over a year. 

The other two communities will have new mayors. 

Sunbury-York South, which includes Rusagonis and Waasis, saw Coun. Cory Allen handily win over former acting mayor Larry DeLong by about 600 votes.

And Debbie Norton won a close race against former acting mayor Amanda Brennan in Miramichi River Valley, which includes Blackville and Renous.

It’s also worth noting that Lakeland Ridges, the amalgamated area in the province’s rural west that includes Canterbury and Meductic, will have a new mayor, too. That municipality was briefly overseen by a supervisor over infighting and resignations. Leonard G. Foster, who was elected mayor in a byelection after that supervision ended, lost tonight to mayor-elect Gregory Grant.

Hélène Boudreau, a nurse of 40 years, won a tight race to be the first woman elected mayor in Dieppe. She won after former Mayor Yvon Lapierre, who served as mayor from 1998 to 2005 and since 2012, chose not to run again. 

In Canada’s Irish Capital, Miramichi voters chose Veronique Arsenault by about 2,500 votes, a councillor who put a focus on economic growth in her campaign. She beat four other candidates after Mayor Adam Lordon chose not to re-offer.

Steve Hicks is the mayor-elect of Fredericton after Jenica Atwin conceded defeat. Speaking at her watch party, Atwin said she congratulated the longtime councillor and thanked her supporters.

His successful run comes after serving four-terms as councillor for Ward 5, which largely represents the neighbourhood of Marysville.

In Woodstock, former mayor Jeff Wright unseated current Mayor Trina Jones by about 500 votes. 

In New Maryland, Coun. Alex Scholten beat longtime Mayor Judy E. Wilson-Shee, who had served three terms, by a mile. Scholten has 1,058 votes to Wilson-Shee’s 349.

Tracadie’s Clifford Robichaud unseated Mayor Denis Losier by over 1,000 votes. 

But some incumbents won, including Marc Thorne in Sussex, Dave Morrison in Hanwell, Bernard Thériault in Caraquet and Andrew Harvey in Carleton North, which includes Florenceville-Bristol. 

Even after the concession from Brian Murphy, Shawn Crossman is standing and refreshing the Elections N.B results page on a phone. He’s clearly anxious at the lack of final results. 

Meanwhile he is taking calls from various people congratulating him. 

Incumbent Coun. Paul Richard, re-elected today in Ward 4, has stopped by to congratulate Crossman. 

He hasn’t given a victory speech here as he awaits those final results. 

Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon says she is looking forward to serving again and ready to meet the moment.

“I'm grateful for the people who voted for me to put me back in this position,” she said, speaking to reporters after being re-elected.

“I just see so much opportunity for Saint John with the geopolitical climate that's happening right now … It's just so much potential for the city of Saint John. And I want to be part of the leadership as that goes forward.”

Candidate Barry Ogden conceded the race about an hour ago. Reardon leads with 7,168 votes to Ogden’s 5,938 and Blaine Harris’s 4,697 with just one tabulator left to count.

While Elections N.B. Still has one tabulator outstanding for Fredericton, Steve Hicks and his wife Angela Hicks, who won a council seat tonight in the Marysville ward that her husband previously represented, have arrived at the watch party. He’s giving a victory speech as results show him still with a healthy lead with just one tabulator uncounted.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us. We ran on a  platform of public safety and affordability and we have a lot of work to do,” Hicks said.

Atwin has not yet called him to concede.

An Elections N.B. Spokesperson said the outstanding tabulator machine was not transmitting the results and is being driven to a returning office. 

Hicks leads by about 1,800 votes with the one tabulator outstanding. 

Two prominent Charlotte County towns have new mayors.

Steven C. Backman, who is president of the Charlotte County Hospital Foundation, among other things, will be the new mayor of St. Stephen, handily winning over his competition. 

Longtime mayor Allan MacEachern, who has been on council since 2012 and mayor since 2016, chose not to re-offer.

The last council has faced challenges to grasp homelessness and a lack of affordable housing, both issues that will still be there as the new mayor and council are sworn in.

And in Saint Andrews, mayor-elect and former councillor Steve Neil won after a race that ended with a sombre tone. Kate Akagi, who has been serving as acting mayor since the resignation of former mayor Brad Henderson last year, died just weeks ago. While Akagi had been running in this election for council instead of mayor, her death meant Neil briefly became acting mayor. Neil won handily.

The last council faced public pushback over designs for the town’s wharf rehabilitation. As cost estimates climbed, the council cancelled the project last fall. But the town is beginning to look at new plans for the wharf, and this new council will have to jump headfirst into this issue.

Nearby in the county, incumbent mayors John D. Craig won in Eastern Charlotte, Bonnie H. Morse in Grand Manan and Harvey Matthews on Campobello Island. 

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