Mulcair tells New Brunswickers to fight fracking

Federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair addressed an enthusiastic crowd of about 150 NDP supporters at the provincial convention in Saint John Saturday.

He talked about the controversial issue of shale gas exploration or hydro-fracking. He encouraged people to pressure the provincial government to stop exploration.

"These are families that have lived on the same land and farmed the same land, not just for generations but for centuries in some cases," Mulcair said.

"So people are very close to their land and they don't want to see it destroyed by carpetbaggers coming in from other places to make a quick buck who leave the mess for future generations to clean up.

"There will be no real sustainable wealth created here, and they'll leave and the cleanup will be left to New Brunswickers."

Both he and NDP provincial Leader Dominc Cardy said support for the party in New Brunswick is growing.

Mulcair spoke about the challenges in New Brunwick where the party has been weak.

But he pointed to Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter as an example of how the party can succeed.

Dexter led the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party to an historic victory in June 2009