2026 New Brunswick Scholarly Book Award

The Editorial Board of the Journal of New Brunswick Studies/Revue d’études sur le Nouveau-Brunswick, is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2026 New Brunswick Scholarly Book Award is Louis J. Robichaud: A Man for the Moment (Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2026), by Dr. Donald J. Savoie, the Clément-Cormier Research Chair in Economic Development at the Université de Moncton.

 

Louis J. Robichaud: A Man for the Moment (also published in French as Le moment était venu pour quelqu’un comme lui: Louis J. Robichaud) is a far-ranging intimate biography of the premier who ushered in the province’s Official Languages Act and the Equal Opportunity Program. This program ensured that all New Brunswickers, regardless of where they lived or to which linguistic community they belonged, had equitable access to needed educational, social and health services, as well as economic opportunities. Controversial at the time and as Savoie reveals, there was a significant personal cost to Robichaud himself but also to his family. Yet Robichaud persevered, and Savoie questions whether any other leader in 1960s New Brunswick could have succeeded given the challenges posed by a fledging economy, power dynamics with K.C. Irving, and conservative public attitudes. Savoie’s answer is “no”: Robichaud was “the man for the moment” and rich insights are gained from the dynamics of Savoie’s decades-long interactions and discussions with Robichaud making the volume a welcome addition. It will be of interest to the general public, especially to those who lived through the period, as well as treasured by academics for its many insights for years to come.