After being elected, Graham initiated a number of changes to provincial policy especially in the areas of health care, education and energy.

His party was defeated in the New Brunswick provincial election held September 27, 2010, and Graham resigned as Liberal leader on November 9, 2010.

[3] Surprising many pundits, Graham was successful in taking a solid lead during delegate selection meetings in February and March 2002, and, as a result, Duffie dropped out of the race.

There was brief excitement on Liberal benches as less than half of the government caucus was present for Graham's speech, however the speaker ruled that the vote would be held along with the main budget motion at the end of the following week.

Graham defended their absence arguing that, because New Democratic Party leader Elizabeth Weir was also absent, it was impossible to defeat the government, and he did not see the need to whip his members.

Graham's victory in a subsequent by-election on November 14, 2005, in Saint John Harbour with candidate Ed Doherty, as well as his continued lead in opinion polls, quieted any criticism of his leadership for a time.

From the Lord government's introduction of controversial health reforms in the spring of 2004, Graham said he would force an election at his earliest opportunity.

In early 2006, Graham set out on a tour of the northeast United States, Washington, D.C. and the Maritimes to promote New Brunswick as an "energy hub" and his idea of building a second reactor at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station.

Graham said, if Malley would support the Liberals, he would have brought down the government on an April 7, 2006 budget vote forcing an early election.

Bernard Lord announced on August 10, 2006, that an election would be held on September 18, 2006, due to the pending resignation of Conservative MLA Peter Mesheau from the legislature that would have created another minority government.

[8] Graham won the 2006 election by taking 29 out of the 55 seats in the legislature despite the Liberals narrowly trailing the Progressive Conservatives in the popular vote.

Graham was elected premier under a platform called the Charter for Change, he pledged to focus on "the three Es": energy, education and the economy.

[14] Additionally, on its first day in office, it pledged $2 million to assist in maintaining ferry service from Saint John to Digby, Nova Scotia.

Graham, who has a background in athletics competing in the 1985 Canada Games for New Brunswick in track and field, wanted to take the portfolio to ensure it was a priority in large part to fight childhood obesity in the province, which is the highest in the country.

It also appointed Bernard Richard as Child and Youth Advocate, a position which had been vacant since its creation in 2005 as a result of a then-opposition Liberal-sponsored bill.

While the budget was balanced, despite warnings months earlier from an independent auditor that the province was facing a massive deficit, and increased spending in priority areas,[22] it was criticized by the opposition for having raised some taxes.

Boudreau defended the increases saying "we all enjoy lower taxes, but when the level of taxation is insufficient to ensure the continued provision of essential public services, it needs to be addressed.

[24] A short time later, Tory MLAs and spouses Wally Stiles and Joan MacAlpine-Stiles crossed the floor to give the Liberals 32 seats, compared to 23 for the opposition.

[27] Additionally, Graham and his Environment Minister Roland Haché launched a Climate Change Action Plan, a five-year strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the province.

[28] Over the summer, a number of major economic projects were announced by Graham including a $1.7 billion potash mine near Sussex[29] and a $21.5 million steel fabrication plan and centre of excellence in Miramichi.

[30][31] In August, Graham hosted all 13 Canadian premiers and territorial leaders in Moncton as incoming chair of the Council of the Federation.

A month later the government said it would set aside the possibility of UNB Saint John losing its status as a 'university' and would refer the report to a working group for further study.

[46] In March, Minister of Education Kelly Lamrock announced that the government would move forward with the recommendations for the reasons stated by the commissioners.

It centred around the so-called Plan for a Stronger Economy which included the tax cuts, a four-year plan to return the province to balanced budgets, the $1.2 billion in infrastructure spending previously announced in December, investments in priority areas with cuts in other areas to ensure "responsible management" of government expenditure.

[73] The company eventually failed anyway and the Progressive Conservatives filed an allegation of conflict of interest against Graham which was not resolved until after his government left office.

There were new ministers for the three largest departments in government – Health, Education and Social Development – as well as the important portfolios of Finance, Attorney General and Business New Brunswick.

[86] On September 27, 2010, Shawn Graham lost his bid to be re-elected as Premier (13 to 42) to provincial PC leader David Alward, but remained MLA for Kent riding.

Graham said he remained in office in part to allow for the completion of an investigation that had been launched by a political opponent about the granting of financial support to the Atcon companies.

[89] Graham stepped down as MLA for the riding of Kent on March 11, 2013, and paid the fine even though his resignation meant he had no legal obligation to do so.

[90] Graham's successor as Liberal leader, Brian Gallant, won the by-election by more than a 2-to-1 margin over the New Democratic Party with the governing Progressive Conservatives coming a distant third with less than 14% of the vote.