Bernard Lord Progressive Conservative Bernard Lord Progressive Conservative The 2003 New Brunswick general election was held on June 9, 2003, to elect the 55 members of the 55th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly.

Although early polls suggested a landslide victory for the incumbent Progressive Conservatives of Premier Bernard Lord, the dynamics of the race shifted after Shawn Graham, leader of the Liberal Party, made auto insurance rates a key issue of his campaign.

Leading up to the election, New Brunswick had its car insurance rates skyrocket.

The Liberal Party of New Brunswick consequently focused its campaign on three points: On the other hand, the campaign of Premier Bernard Lord and his Progressive Conservative Party faced a number of problems, especially after changing its position on the key issue of auto insurance several times during the 30-day campaign.

Shawn Graham was even heard to remark on television as the night was drawing to a close that "Up to 5 minutes ago, I thought I was Premier".