Fredericton hosting ‘Week in the Life of a Councillor’ ahead of spring election

Some Maritime municipalities are offering programs to educate anyone who wants to run for local council.

Declared and potential candidates for New Brunswick’s municipal elections on May 11 are being encouraged to study up on civics and local government before putting their name on a ballot.

Fredericton city hall is hosting a weeklong information session titled ‘A Week in the Life of a Councillor’ starting Feb. 17. The program includes a presentation from Elections NB, a question-and-answer session with an outgoing city councillor, as well as scheduled council and committee meetings.

“We want people who may be interested in running for council to be able to get a glimpse at what the role is actually like,” says city clerk Jennifer Lawson. “We’re trying to find ways to increase people’s understanding of what happens at city hall and also to give people an opportunity, who are running, to make sure they’ve made an informed decision as to what actually goes on here.

The program was first piloted by the city in 2021.

Elections NB will begin accepting candidate nominations on March 23, with the nomination deadline at 2 p.m. on April 26.

Kim Poffenroth, New Brunswick’s chief electoral officer, says Elections NB began receiving calls from potential candidates looking for information on the spring vote “well before Christmas.”

“It’s a little bit different than in a provincial election, where you’ll have political parties that will be out recruiting candidates and they’ll play a significant role in educating their potential candidates,” says Poffenroth. “(Elections NB takes) on a bigger role, in that respect, for local government elections.”

Poffenroth says the voting agency has information for potential candidates on the nomination process, signage rules and the potential for employer conflicts.

Poffenroth says there’s “always room for improvement with regard to civics education,” and calls efforts such as Fredericton’s ‘A Week in the Life of a Councillor’ program an “excellent initiative.”

“I think it gives people an opportunity for people to understand what’s involved in the job before they decide to run,” she says. “And I hope those types of initiatives will lead to less resignations as we’ve seen in the number of municipalities that are currently under supervision because of the number of resignations.”

Since the 2021 election, council resignations in Strait Shores, Sunbury-York South and Miramichi River Valley have left each community without quorum. All three communities are now under the control of an unelected provincial supervisor.

In September, the Local Governance Commission of New Brunswick recommended training be mandatory for all municipal councillors on everything from fiscal management to decorum.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.