Just 2 years old, an N.B. council is in turmoil after resignations and sanctions

Another of New Brunswick's new municipal councils has become embroiled in drama and bitter conflict.

Strait Shores lies along the Northumberland Strait and includes the former village of Port Elgin and smaller communities out to the Confederation Bridge. The sprawling community was amalgamated in 2023 as part of local governance reform.

But the Strait Shores council began to unravel this year after a new member was elected in a January byelection.

What followed were resignations, sanctions, heated allegations and a tense public meeting, where angry residents spoke out in support of the new councillor, saying he was being unfairly punished.

Andy MacGregor, a retiree who took up school-bus driving to stay busy, said he ran in the byelection after attending council meetings and feeling local government needed more structure.

"Not much detail, not much talking, no discussion, just everything was rubber-stamped in and out," MacGregor said in an interview. 

At his second meeting, on Feb. 10, MacGregor introduced a dozen transparency motions. Among other things, he called for posting previous financial statements, requiring a public tender when a municipal asset is sold, and imposing a deadline for posting meeting minutes.

In his speech, which he shared with CBC News, MacGregor called on his colleagues to be accountable.

"And if you feel that for any reason, you cannot work within this system, I would strongly urge you to resign for the betterment of Strait Shores."

Over a month later, the minutes from that meeting are still not on the Strait Shores website, so it is unclear how other councillors voted on his motions.

What is clear, however, is the meeting struck a nerve.

Mayor Jason Stokes resigned Feb. 14, and in a blistering three-page letter, attacked MacGregor.

Stokes called MacGregor the "town bully" and accused him of having "intense hatred" for municipal staff. MacGregor's motions came from a "need to control the staff," said Stokes, who wanted an apology.

"Please don't think that because you watched a bunch of meetings and read a bunch of stuff that you know what being a mayor and councillor is like," Stokes wrote, adding he experienced "visceral anger and hatred" from MacGregor.