It’s been a pretty hectic couple of days for Dawn Arnold.
The now former mayor of Moncton, N.B., resigned suddenly on Friday after being appointed to the Senate of Canada.
“I’m just getting used to it,” said Arnold.
On Monday, Arnold said she’s excited about her new position but is still finding out exactly what her role will be.
“It’s very, very new,” she said.
Deputy Mayor Paulette Thériault is now the acting mayor of the city.
Arnold spoke with Thériault and city council on Friday just before the announcement was made.
“Yeah, I think some people were somewhat caught off guard. I did have the opportunity to sit down with my deputy mayor, who is now the mayor of Moncton, the first Acadian woman, Paulette Thériault, so I did get the chance to give her a bit of a heads up in advance,” said Arnold.
It was a tough situation for Moncton’s first female mayor because she said she really wasn’t allowed to speak to anyone about the possibility of becoming a senator.
“I haven’t known for very longer either. It’s a process. I had applied last August and then I didn’t really hear anything for a long, long time, but when you get the call from the prime minister it’s pretty exciting, but you can’t tell anyone,” she said.
The city will have an acting mayor until May 2026, the next municipal election.
City of Moncton spokesperson Aloma Jardine said council usually votes on a new deputy mayor once a year, but she wasn’t sure how Arnold’s resignation might affect that.
Jardine said the city wasn’t really caught off guard by Arnold’s announcement.
“There are provisions to address a mayor’s resignation while in office,” said Jardine in an email. “But of course it is not a common occurrence and Senator Arnold had served quite a long term as mayor - nearly nine years.”
Riverview Mayor Andrew LeBlanc said he was surprised to hear about Arnold’s appointment.
“A little bit, yeah. Very exciting news. I can’t think of anybody more deserving than former Mayor Arnold, now Senator Arnold. She’s worked so hard on behalf of the city and the region. She’s been a great leader,” said LeBlanc.
LeBlanc said he had a great working relationship with Arnold and current Dieppe Mayor Yvon Lapierre.
“Senator Arnold has been a real leader in wanting to foster collaboration. Not just in the tri-community, but through the southeast region,” said LeBlanc. “It’s pretty clear that everybody recognizes that we’re stronger when we’re together and the more we can collaborate the more impact we can have.”
Arnold has served as mayor since 2016.
Before that, she was elected to city council as a councillor-at-large in 2012.
She recalled a handful of memorable moments and said she was very proud of the city’s recent growth.
“Last year our city grew by 7.1 per cent, that’s beyond any other city, the City of Moncton, in the country,” said Arnold.
The work she did with youth in the community was also a source of pride.
“That’s really inspiring work to be able to engage with young people and let them know they have a voice,” said Arnold.
Arnold also served during the pandemic and more recently the city’s opioid and homelessness crisis.
She is however seeing some progress with the homeless issue saying the city has a better relationship with the new Liberal government than the previous Conservative one.
“I would say that the province is really stepping up,” said Arnold.
As for what she’ll miss the most, Arnold said it will be the face-to-face interactions with the public.
“Whether it’s biking along the trail or stopping to chat with someone or here at the Avenir Centre for a Wildcats game,” she said. “I won’t have the opportunity to be quite as out in the community because I will have to be in Ottawa for a bit of a time. So, I miss that and I will certainly miss the kids in the schools.”
CTV News requested an interview with Acting Mayor Paulette Thériault but was told she was in meetings for the majority of the day and unavailable.
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