Tight contest in Miramichi-Grand Lake ends in Conservative victory

One of the closest federal election races in New Brunswick was the riding of Miramichi-Grand Lake, where Mike Dawson was trying to keep the seat for the Conservatives but had stiff opposition from Liberal Lisa Harris.

In the end, Harris conceded the race to Dawson early Tuesday morning.

The riding flipped back and forth between Harris and Dawson as results trickled in Monday evening. 

It was the only riding in the province CBC had not projected a winner by midnight.

The sprawling riding covers much of central and eastern New Brunswick, including the city of Miramichi.

Both Harris and Dawson had previously represented the Miramichi area in the provincial legislature. 

Harris was first elected to the New Brunswick legislature in 2014, serving as a minister under premier Brian Gallant. She resigned her seat to run for the federal Liberals in the 2021 election. She lost to Jake Stewart.

Stewart had been nominated to run in this election but announced in early March he wasn't reoffering. The decision followed criticism from Conservatives in the riding. 

The financial agent for the Miramichi-Grand Lake Conservative riding association resigned in January, citing a "toxic and manipulative atmosphere" in Stewart's office.

Dawson resigned his seat as a Progressive Conservative in the legislature to run federally.

Other candidates in the riding were Matthew Ian Clark for the Green Party and Josh Floyd for the NDP.