2024 Provincial Council Candidates
President - Ryan Spencer
My name is Ryan Spencer and I live in Fredericton. I have been involved with the party since returning from Ontario to my home province of New Brunswick and enjoy all it has to offer!
I wish to extend my time on Provincial Council to continue to contribute to the good work of council and the party at large. With an election looming, being Green is more important than ever and I feel I can contribute to good governance of the party.
I have served as party Treasurer for 1.5 years and most recently took on the role of interim President, which I wish to continue for the remainder of the term.
VP Anglophone - Meris K Brookland
I have been a volunteer with the Green Party since 2014 and became involved with the Fredericton South RDA about four years ago and am currently the President. I have worked on several campaigns for the Green Party; a few for David Coon as well as other Green candidates, including the April 2023 by-election for Rachel Boudreau in the riding of Restigouche-Chaleur.
I scouted the campaign headquarters for the 2020 snap election for David Coon and the Provincial Party; was in charge of Telephone Canvassing volunteers and also worked the front desk. After about a week at HQ, due to COVID I chose to work from home which gave me the opportunity to work longer hours.
In the federal election, I made arrangements with special care homes, nursing homes and long-term care facilities so the candidate could meet with the seniors and hear their concerns; and I ensured GVote data was kept up to date to avoid potential duplications in canvassing, signs, phone calls, etc.
I’ve done cold call fundraising for the Party and the Fredericton South RDA, organized events for David and other Green Party candidates, and am currently working on the campaigns of David Coon and Anthea Plummer. What I would bring to the Provincial Council is years of experience and skills that would serve the Council well, but it is my dedication and admiration for both David Coon and the Green Party that will ensure I will do my very best for both.
Treasurer - Rebecca Blaevoet
I moved to New Brunswick in 2019. I run a braille publishing business, raise some livestock, and have a good garden. I had the idea of opening a fromagerie and am now finishing certification in professional cheesemaking. All being well, I should start before the end of 2025. With the snap election in 2020, I wanted to help, so I joined my RDA to help door-knock for the candidate. I saw an opening as chair of the Policy Working Group and held that position for a year before someone convinced me to run as VP Anglophone for Provincial Council.
It is rewarding to work for the betterment of New Brunswick with people who are so dedicated to doing this. Every meeting I’m moved by the hard work everyone is doing to make this province a better place to live, behind the scenes. The GPNB is a small party, with tremendous ideals and important things to say.
Somehow the work we do feels like we’re getting this earth to a better state than it was when we came to it. As for my contribution, not the slightest clue! I like numbers, have an analytical mind, but I process things slowly and don’t have facility with Google Sheets and Zoom. As long as people are prepared to put up with my flounderings, I’m happy to serve as I can. As treasurer, I think my biggest contribution is to keep all the finance people communicating with each other, sharing the data and concerns, and cobbling together reports with numbers that people need to see.
Treasurer - Emerald Gibson
Elected to the Provincial Council in April 2021 as Secretary completing my term. Was elected to Federal Council in the Fall of 2022 to fill the Vacant Seat for New Brunswick, then re-elected in the Fall of 2023. I currently serve as the Co-Chair of the Finance Committee of the Federal Council a member of the NBGP Governance Committee and President of the Oromocto Riding. I was the founding Chair of the “Canadian Positive People Network (CPPN/RCPS)”. I have worked on many Federal and Provincial campaigns from the time I was 16 I learned about politics from the ground up.
Long-term survivor who has lived with HIV for 40 years and has been involved with HIV/AIDS organizations over the years, recent involvement also includes other than what I have mentioned Past Canadian Co-Chair and Atlantic Regional Board Member of the Global Network of Person Living with HIV/AIDS North America (GNP+NA). I have served on the Board and Executive Committees of AIDS New Brunswick, and the Canadian Treatment Action Council (CTAC). Hands-on Treasurer of CPPN/RCPS for a brief time. I also served as Treasurer of the National Group “Realize” formerly known as the Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation.
I have been a member of the NB Green Party from 2020 and also the “Green Party of Canada (GPC)” from early 2019 to the present. I have been active as a Financial Agent from August 2019 until now and served as the official Agent during the 44th General Election. I am very familiar with the use and operation and use of Electronic Financial Returns (EFR).
I also currently serve as the Secretary for the Green Party Fund of Canada and was one of the alternates and have acted as Interim Chief Financial Agent. My background and training in Computerized Business Management and Accounting working with and creating and reading spreadsheets to get a better financial overview allowed me to question what has happened and realize what could happen.
I feel that my background and training will allow me to provide the provincial party with resources and the experience I have gained though my financial background and training
Youth Representative - Liam MacDougall
Currently, I am a grade 12 student at Leo Hayes High School on Fredericton’s Northside. I was born in Fredericton and have lived on the northside ever since. This fall, I plan on pursuing a political science degree at St Thomas university. After my degree, a career in the public sector or politics is my goal. I have also had a job at a local plant nursery, Currie’s Greenhouse’s since 2019. Working there allowed me to connect with my community and sparked my interest in nature. This love of nature has brought me on trips all across the province exploring our environment. I am proud to be from New Brunswick.
I want to join the provincial council to represent youth voices within the party council. Joining the council has been a goal of mine since being first involved with the greens in the 8th grade. I am passionate to see real political change in New Brunswick, and I firmly believe that the GPNB is the only way to accomplish such. Seeing the work that the 3 current green MLAs are doing gives me hope for a better New Brunswick. Being involved with the provincial council would give me an opportunity to help shape the future of New Brunswick, while also representing the future of NB, youth. I feel I can contribute by offering a youth perspective on issues and policy. I would like to accomplish this by setting up a provincial green youth council. This would give youth the opportunity to have a direct voice to me as youth representative.
Regional Councilor - Southeast Region - Karen Rogers
I retired as an elementary school resource teacher in 2019. Prior to being a teacher I practised law for 11 years (Cox Palmer in Moncton). I have always had a keen interest in the environment and education. In particular, over the last 10 years I have developed a variety of programs around healthy eating including, school gardens, a Farm to Cafeteria program and a food literacy curriculum for grade four students. Since retiring I have completed the Master Gardeners course and I’m an active participant of the Dr. David Suzuki Butterflyway project which supports education on biodiversity and conservation. I am currently an EAL tutor at an elementary school.
My values line up well with the NB Green party. My organizational, listening and community building skills will support local concerns and bring them to Provincial Council for action.
Regional Councilor - Fundy - Andrew Conradi
Hello! My name is Andrew Conradi - I live in the Hampton area, and I'm excited to get more involved with the Green Party of NB.
I'm passionate about nature and the outdoors, embracing our role in-and-of the environment, and the importance of acting both individually and collectively to be better stewards of the planet. We owe it to ourselves and to the future to do what we can today to chart a more sustainable course.
In terms of professional background: currently I work remotely as a management consultant, before which I started my career with a number of roles in the Ontario wine industry, ending with a stint at a winery that focused on applying certified organic agricultural practices.
As a relative newcomer to the area (having relocated to New Brunswick about four years ago, following my family's move to Saint John in 2016), in the short time I have been involved with GPNB I've been deeply moved and motivated by the enthusiasm of the all fellow members I've met, and by the party's emphasis on collaboration and teamwork.
I'm eager to find a way to contribute more significantly, aiming to support the party's growth and outreach as the importance of adopting Green solutions to our current challenges becomes increasingly apparent to more and more people.
Regional Councilor - Fundy - Wayne Hitchcock
My name is Wayne Hitchcock and I was born at Perth-Andover, New Brunswick on May 7, 1954. With the exception of 7 years I have lived in New Brunswick my whole life.
During my life I have worked as a janitor, a railway worker, a mechanic’s stores clerk, a stock trader on the U.S. and Canadian stock markets, a provincial jail guard and finally 30 years as a Customs and Excise Officer. I am now retired. My skill set includes teaching, public speaking, research, music and extensive time in interpretation and implementation of legislation.
My motto is “No job is too big to be done and no job is too small to be ignored.”
The question is why do I wish to be on the Provincial Council. There really is no easy answer but when all the small things are put aside the reason that is left is to have representation for the south- west corner of the province. The St. Croix #36 riding is bounded on the west by the United States, on the north by the Canterbury woods, on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east by the riding of Fundy followed by the various ridings in and around Saint John. Since Fundy is still not organized and active as an RDA our little group is cut off from the rest of the province. Small though we might be I feel we are very active and need to remain in contact with our provincial body to stay that way. Of our small group I am currently the only one with the free time and desire to maintain this link. I am convinced that this contact is essential for this corner of the province to grow greener and I am willing to give my time and effort to see that happen.
Regional Councilor - Fundy - Chris Kohler
I embody three careers. A third of my career was in natural resources spurred by forest wildlife undergraduate and master’s degrees (UNB-UBC). Dismayed at the forestry façade of Canada’s industrial tree farming industry in both universities and related government offices, I moved to China. I’d have continued with natural resources through a World Wildlife Fund Yangtze River habitat rehabilitation program, but with no Chinese skills, got into the university-level English teaching, mixed with Canada and New Zealand environmental and moral psychology/philosophy studies. It’s this experience I want to add to the only party willing to bring down the façade.
I believe I can improve the Green Party’s wording on societal interactions through the persuasion concepts of organizational and moral/political social psychology. These concepts, plus basic human rights and the damage to youth by the social media industry are pushed by Heterodox Academy and related entities (see Jonathan Haidt’s book, The Righteous Mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion). Some believe it is possible to sew the left-right divide. I think it requires a new party; a chasm I would like to help the Green Party fulfill.
Regional Councilor - Northern Region - Kevin Roussel
Originally from Saint-Joseph-de-Madawaska, I work in human resources at the Université de Moncton, Edmundston campus. My wife and I are raising four beautiful children. It keeps us busy! We volunteer for the Refuge Madawaska Shelter and other organizations in the Edmundston area.
I want to represent my region and help move the Green Party towards electing new MLAs.
Ombuds Committee - Samuel Arnold
Retired music teacher, composer and arranger. Active in environmental groups.
Current Ombud Committee Chair, willing to continue for 1 or 2 years.
Ombuds Committee - Margo Sheppard
Margo Sheppard is an Environmental Studies grad from the University of Waterloo, ON. Her thirty-five year career in environmental planning and has encompassed non-profits and two Provincial Government ministries (Transportation and Environment). Before moving to Fredericton in 1995 she served as Cabinet Liaison officer, advising on land use, pollution prevention, environmental assessment, Niagara Escarpment and aboriginal affairs.
Margo was Executive Director of the Nature Trust of New Brunswick, a charitable land conservation organization, where she served for twenty years. Her work included chairing a federally-funded Sustainable Forestry working group involving non-government, forest industry and academic parties.
Margo was elected to Fredericton City Council in May, 2021. She is Vice-Chair of the Environmental Stewardship Committee, and Chair of the [Heritage] Preservation Review Board.