[1] Though they ran even with the PCs in popular vote, their concentration of support in rural anglophone ridings gave them considerably more seats.

Weir's personal popularity and name recognition was not enough to give her party more seats as she, and the Tories, had votes relatively evenly spread around the province.

Though Frank McKenna's Liberals were expected to win a second term after sweeping all 58 seats in 1987, any of the other three parties were considered contenders for official opposition.

In the ensuing three years, thanks to the lack of opposition members in the legislature (MLAs), her firebrand style had made her a well-known name in New Brunswick politics.

Even so, the scandals of the final Hatfield years and the growing unpopularity of the federal Progressive Conservatives hindered their success.