MLA puts forward name for Conservative leadership

The race for the leadership of New Brunswick's Progressive Conservatives has begun, with the first candidate announcing his intention to run.

Woodstock MLA David Alward held a news conference in Woodstock on Thursday to announce he would be seeking the leadership of the party.

"I want to lead the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick and become premier of New Brunswick," said Alward, who was first elected in 1999.

Five Tory MLAs stood by Alward as he made his announcement. Four said they will be officially endorsing Alward. The fifth, Restigouche-la-Valle MLA Percy Mockler, said he liked Alward but was waiting to see what other candidates come forward.

"He's a formidable candidate," Mockler said, but noted he wants to see what other candidates can also offer to the party and the province.

"They'll have to demonstrate they can compete with David Alward."

Alward, a former agriculture minister, will be able to relate to people throughout the province, said Saint John MLA Trevor Holder.

"I could march David into any part of my riding and talk to people on any given issue and I would feel comfortable that he could build bridges with them," said Holder, who endorsed Alward as a candidate.

Alward didn't make any specific promises. The Conservatives will be holding a policy conference following their leadership convention in October.

During his speech Thursday, Alward said the party must listen to voters. He attacked the leadership of Liberal Premier Shawn Graham, saying that he hasn't listened to the electorate enough.

The leadership convention will be held on Oct. 18 at the Aitken Centre at the University of New Brunswick's Fredericton campus. There will also be at least four satellite voting stations across the province.

The party will be using a one-member, one-vote system to choose the new leader.

The convention comes 11 years after the party chose Bernard Lord as its last leader. Lord resigned in January 2007 after his government lost the 2006 provincial election.

Since then, Jeannot Volp has been serving as interim leader.

Five other Tories, including MLAs Paul Robichaud and Bruce Fitch, have told CBC News they are considering running but have yet to announce their candidacy.