2025 Provincial Council Candidates
Here are some things you should know about this year's Provincial Council Elections:
- Voting for your 2025 Provincial Council is open from May 8th to May 26th.
- Only members in good standing will receive a ballot.
- Ballots will be sent electronically for those who have email addresses on file with us. Others will receive their ballots in the mail.
- If you do not receive a ballot by Monday, May 12th and you think you should have, please call the office to verify your membership status.
- If you register your membership with us by Monday, May 12th at midnight (14 days before voting closes), you are entitled to vote and will be sent a ballot.
- Results of the election will be announced at the Annual General Meeting in Tracadie on Saturday, May 31.
- Not all positions are contested, but all positions include a "none of the above" option, so voting for all positions is important.
Below are short bios for each candidate. You also have the opportunity to meet the candidates in an virtual Meet & Greet on Wednesday, May 14th at 7:00pm. Registration for the Meet & Greet in advance is required for attendees.
Candidates for Executive Positions:
Ryan Spencer and lives in Fredericton, NB. He was born in Stanley, NB and returned to the province in 2021 after 11 years in Waterloo, ON where he went to school. He is an Engineer. Ryan has served on Provincial Council for three years; first in the role of Treasurer and then as President. He was actively engaged in the 2024 General Election both at the provincial level and in multiple local campaigns. Ryan would like to continue on as President for two more years. He wants to take the momentum from the 2024 election and build it toward the next election.
I'm a business owner and minister who lives, works, and plays in Charlotte County. I moved to St. Stephen in 2018 with my family and started building my business, serving as a licensed minister, joining the Chamber of Commerce, and officiating weddings for couples from St. Stephen to Moncton and anywhere in between. Since then, I've joined the Rotary Club and the board of Neighbourhood Works. As a golfer, skier, musician, board gamer, travel enthusiast, and motorcyclist, the lives of my family and I are full of good things because of the friends and activities we find all over this beautiful province.
A provincial election was called just weeks after we moved to New Brunswick; as a newcomer, I studied the parties and candidates from scratch. It was apparent that only one party took seriously the need to protect our ecology, correct economic gaps, renew our healthcare and education, and show appropriate respect to Indigenous and other marginalized persons.
That’s why I voted Green in 2018 and 2020 and ran with Greens in 2024. Sadly, in 2025 many of these challenges persist. The choice remains clear: the Green Party is the one best suited to address issues like climate, housing and affordability, health and schools, and Equality.
As a business owner, volunteer, author, minister, and team leader with two university degrees, I have a proven history of serving and solving. Sitting on a non-profit board of directors means I know how to give oversight, offer opinions, listen, and discuss in committee on the most pressing issues of an organization. Growing a half-million-dollar business from scratch since 2017 has meant that I need to continually acquire new skills as emerging challenges and customer needs present themselves. The work of growing a business is never “done,” and to find and keep customers I’ve cultivated innovation, communication, and adaptation as key values in my leadership and corporation.
My experience as a Green candidate in 2024 has given me a keen insight into how important it is to understand the most pressing problems in one’s local community. The best way to do that is to volunteer, attend events, sit in or on councils, and meet neighbours across the political spectrum.
But achieving a thriving community goes beyond that. Leaders identify actionable steps and deploy a plan alongside passionate people, and finding and keeping those people means fostering a sense of unity, cohesion, and joy around an achievable goal. Key to that is communicating priority needs and solutions as projects move along so that people at work stay motivated together.
I am always excited to listen to neighbours, contribute my skills, and work on a team of solution-finders who are shaping a better future.
I’m a lifelong community builder, advocate for social justice, and mother raising a young daughter in Fredericton. I come to this role with deep grassroots experience—running or taking key roles in both federal and provincial elections, working on policy, communications, and community outreach, and actively supporting candidates and members across New Brunswick.
My background is in advocacy, social engagement, Indigenous community projects and research. I’ve worked for non-profits, coordinated campaigns, and helped strengthen relationships between members and leadership. I’m semi-bilingual, experienced in navigating complex systems, and known for showing up, following through, and creating space for people to be heard.
I’m seeking the role of VP Anglophone because I believe we need to build trust, Green culture, and connection within the party. We can grow when we support each other, create clear and responsive systems, and lead with transparency. I want to help build a party where people feel proud, empowered to act, and confident in our shared direction.
I bring experience, dedication, and a clear vision for how we move forward together—not just to survive, but to become something stronger than before.
I bring a wide range of skills rooted in organizing, advocacy, critical thinking, and communications. I have experience in public speaking, campaign strategy, writing, and coordination. I’m skilled at building relationships across diverse communities, facilitation, and creating inclusive, welcoming spaces.
I have a background in non-profit work and education, which has given me expertise in conflict resolution, consensus-based decision making, and team-building. I’ve helped develop social media strategies, fundraising plans, and outreach materials that connect with people on both practical and emotional levels.
Above all, I lead with empathy, transparency, and determination. Whether I’m managing logistics behind the scenes or speaking to a crowd, I bring a steady hand, a collaborative spirit, and a clear sense of purpose.
A face you may recognize! Jacques was a candidate for the Green Party in the last Dieppe-Memramcook election.
Jacques believes more than ever in the importance of taking concrete action to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the province. This is something that only the NB Green Party is seriously committed to doing.
During his mandate, he intends to work closely with board members and caucus to put the Green Party in an excellent position for the next provincial election.
To achieve this, he is counting on more than 30 years of experience in the news media, both in the field as a journalist-producer at the French CBC-Radio-Canada, and in management teams, as Editor-in-chief and Head of support, infrastructure, operations and administration.
Jacques chose the Université de Moncton for his graduate studies. He holds a Baccalauréat Es Art with a major in Information-Communication and a minor in Political Science, as well as a Master's degree in Environmental Studies from the Université de Moncton.
Jacques Giguère sits on the Board of Directors of Maison Nazareth, a service and resource Center for the rehabilitation of homeless people in Greater Moncton.
He is vice-chairman of the executive committee of the Association des retraités de la SRC - section Moncton.
He is a lecturer in information-communication at the Université de Moncton.
Jacques Giguère has lived in the Dieppe-Memramcook region for 40 years. He understands the environmental, economic and social challenges facing this beautiful region.
Josh Shaddick is a native of Miramichi who now calls Fredericton home. He moved to Fredericton to take the position of Regional Manager of a drug and alcohol testing company and has become actively involved with the Green Party at the local level both provincially and federally. He’s passionate about the environment and electoral reform.
Josh has been a candidate at the provincial level twice and federally once, both times as a Green. He’s been a campaign manager, an official agent, a door knocking volunteer, a member of the sign team and has generally been willing to do whatever it takes to get Greens elected.
Josh’s job requires him to take efficient and articulate notes. This gives him the experience required to be an effective secretary for a board. He is currently the Secretary for RDA 41 (Fredericton North) and looks forward to making a meaningful contribution at the Provincial level by filling that same role on Provincial Council.
Candidates for Regional Representative Positions:
In the last provincial election, I was a candidate for the NB Green Party in the riding of Shediac - Cap-Acadie. Although I didn't win the election, I still managed to garner 30% of the vote.
As a community-minded person, I am pleased to sit on various boards of directors, including those of Centre habiletés Sud-Est inc. the Beauséjour Family Crisis Resource Centre inc. the Vestiaire St-Joseph inc. and a construction committee for affordable housing under the governance of Auberge Ste-Thérèse Inc.
I passionately care for some 30 beehives to harvest honey, and with my wife Donna we cultivate a small garden while enjoying our perennials of asparagus, rhubarb, Jerusalem artichokes and horseradish. Pesticides and herbicides are not welcome on our land.
Before retirement, I was a military chaplain, which allowed me to see the harmful effects of armed conflict, but also the beauty of different cultures around the world. Even so, I've always wanted to come back to New Brunswick, where more than ever different cultures learn to know and respect each other, and where life is good. This is my home.
My military experience has enabled me to recognize and appreciate the qualities of all those involved and the unique contribution each one makes. That's why it's so important to set a clear, adaptable vision and mission, so that we know and understand our objectives, because clarity is key.
The importance of adapting, having taken on various responsibilities with each transfer, I had to analyze and understand different issues and operating modes and adapt accordingly, while respectfully sharing my opinion.
After a long career, I had an innate need to work the land. It wasn't all plain sailing, however, as I soon realized that I had to relearn how to observe the natural world around me: the composition of the soil, insects, predators and our climate. Climate change is perceptible and we're trying to adapt to it, just look at the riprap walls along our coasts, but we're in denial about the source of the problem.
It's all very well to shout, scream and protest, but in my opinion, the solution to climate change is a political one. As a member of the Green Party, I believe it's my duty to support our MLAs in the Legislative Assembly, because New Brunswickers are entitled to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, where our resources are well managed and where we can drink the water, breathe the air and eat without worry.
It would be my pleasure to represent the South-East of our province by sitting on the Provincial Council, to make my humble contribution.
Although politics have interested me for a while, I only became involved with the Green Party (and politics in general) fairly recently, when the Higgs government tried to dismantle Policy 713. Because of my background in marketing I then helped during the 2024 election as a member of the provincial communications committee. Since then I am continuing efforts to secure stronger protections for gender identity. I am bilingual and have a particular interest in human rights and affordable housing (which is a right in itself).
I'd like to continue learning and be helpful however I can. In addition to what is needed by membership, my objective in this role would be to provide tools to make campaigns easier for RDAs during the next election, and contribute to communications and marketing as we rebuild towards that date. I don't like governments where a single party gets to do whatever it wants -- New Brunswick is better off with a strong Green party that holds the balance of power and keeps the red or blue team accountable.
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.
Hello, my name is Burt Folkins and I am offering for the position of Regional Counsellor for the NB Green Party in the capital region. Having been a member of the Green Party since its inception and having observed the actions of politics in the Province in the last few years, I feel it is important that the NB Green Party continue to be a strong voice for New Brunswickers. As a counsellor on Provincial council, it would be my responsibility to be a liaison between the RDA’s in the capital region and the Provincial Council. Additionally, as a counsellor, I would be involved in the ongoing direction of the Green Party and expressing the views and opinions of party members.
I have lived in beautiful New Brunswick my entire life. I have four adult children, all of whom are also living in NB with their families. I spent my early years in rural NB, growing up and then working on a mixed farm that has been in the Folkins family for nine generations. I have been self-employed for the most part, focusing on real estate development and financial services. It’s through this work, and a lifetime of community and volunteer service, that I have acquired characteristics that speak to my core values: Being earnest, honest, results-oriented, optimistic, and fiscally responsible – and always supporting local New Brunswick.
I share the concerns of fellow New Brunswickers: Access to timely healthcare and pharmacare, adequate housing, education, climate issues, land reform, government election reform, tax reform, basic living income and improved support for social programming.
I can think of no greater way to give back to the Party and the Province than to be part of the Provincial Council. I believe this is the perfect opportunity to represent my fellow New Brunswickers at the provincial level and to advocate on their behalf for a future that is bright, comfortable, affordable, safe, caring, and just. I believe in a better future for our children and future generations regardless of their means, race, colour, language, religion or diversity. In my vision of New Brunswick all are welcome.
Thank you for your support in this election as a Regional Counsellor for Central New Brunswick.
I grew up in the beautiful town of Hampton New Brunswick and have many fond memories of being outside exploring the woods and the Kennebecasis River. After graduating from St. Thomas University in Fredericton, I spent over a decade living overseas, but I have never considered anywhere but New Brunswick home. Since returning in 2018, I have worked with various community organizations including the Fredericton Homeless Shelters, Third Age Centre and Nature NB before working for the Green Party as an Administrative Assistant. I recently completed a Masters in Adult Education and I am passionate about lifelong learning and empowering people through education. I can often be found in various parts of our lovely province cycling, hiking or camping, either on my own or with my husband.
I am a big believer in being involved in the community where I live. Running for the Provincial Council is a great opportunity to enable change in Fredericton and our province. I fully support the values of the NB Green Party and believe they are the only party to help solve the crises we are currently facing, whether it be healthcare, housing or the climate. I believe my volunteer and work experience will both be beneficial in my role as a Regional Councillor, and I look forward to being further involved.