Due to the unusual situation of leading a government with no parliamentary opposition, Premier Frank McKenna named backbench members of his caucus to form a shadow cabinet.

He pledged to bring in many new programs, focussing on social services, in contrast to the fiscal conservatism of McKenna, but felt he should win a mandate of his own before instituting any major changes.

In doing so, Thériault gave up one of the key advantages of the incumbency, letting it be widely known months in advance that the election would be held in June 1999.

In the early days of the campaign, Lord reversed his earlier position, shared with the government, supporting highway tolls on the new divided route from Fredericton to Moncton.

Thériault largely ignored Lord's surging campaign as he felt the Liberals would easily cruise to victory—a feeling mirrored in polls right up until the last week.

Following his resignation as party leader, then-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed him to the Transportation Safety Board, and within the year he was named its chairman.