Municipal Election 2026: Jason Horsman Candidate for Ward 2

Join us for a special series of CAC: In Conversation, covering the 2026 Municipal Election in the Fundy Albert Region. 

In this conversation, we chat with Jason Horsman, Candidate for the position of Councillor of Ward 2.  

All candidates were given a list of potential questions at least 24 hours in advance of their interview and were asked the same questions. We have completed light editing for clarity, length, and sound quality. All views and opinions represented in the interviews are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect those of Connecting Albert County. 

Connecting Albert County thanks our presenting sponsor, the Bennett & Albert County Healthcare Foundation.

For more information on Connecting Albert County, please go to our website or find us on Facebook or Instagram.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Hello and welcome to Connecting Albert County, the In Conversation series. This special edition is part of our coverage of the 2026 municipal elections here in Funday Albert. Today I am here talking with Jason Horsman from Ward 2 in Fundy Albert. He is one of two candidates that's running in this election. And thank you so much, Jason, for being here and being part of the chat with us.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Well, thank you. Thank you for putting it on and including me. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Well, it is important to us to try and connect to folks from one end of our uh great area to the other and let them know an election is happening and hopefully we can help increase voter turnout and have people make informed choices uh the day of voting. So we appreciate you being here because that lets us do our job.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Thank you. Well, like I say, the more the more people we get out, the better off we are because the areas should definitely be run by the people, not the politicians.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

So there you go. For sure. So maybe to begin our conversation, you can just self-introduce a little bit and tell us about yourself.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Yeah, I'm uh Jason Horseman, Albert Mines Road, born and raised. Um, course of my lifetime, I've moved a boat 600 feet from one house to the neighbor's house. Uh, we run a little beef and horse farm back in Albert Mines. Uh professionally, I've got three licenses automotive, truck and transport, and heavy equipment, currently employed by the city of Moncton as a heavy-duty diesel mechanic and automotive mechanic. Uh so like I say education-wise is uh more university and hands-on, kind of educated in the school and in the and in the pasture. So proud to have been from Albert County growing up.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

So thank you. How would you describe your leadership style and how have you demonstrated community leadership?

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Well, it's uh basically I I'm a firm believer in the people are the voice. Um, it's funny this takes place at the time when it does because I I actually was just elected the president of QP Local 51 in Moncton, our outside workers' union. That's what I'm doing here today in Fredericton, is a convention on that. So, like I say, I I believe my activism in the union has allowed me to get some preparation for a foyer into politics and into municipal council. Um, like I say, as far as leadership styles, basically open, honest dialogue with other people and consulting. I've been a firm believer all my life of consulting with those that actually know rather than just getting opinions from. And I mean, there's nothing wrong with opinions, but if you can if you can surround yourself with people that know and rely on their expertise, it's definitely a definitely a huge help.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

We know that, you know, when you surround yourself with people, anytime there's more than one person in a room, there's going to be um differing of viewpoints and backgrounds. And particularly in a municipal situation where you have a larger group of people representing an even larger group of people, there's bound to be conflict. And conflict can actually be a very positive thing because it can spur people to move forward. Uh, it just depends how it's managed. How do you handle conflict and how do you navigate it? And what would that look like in the municipal setting?

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Um, maybe we do a do a lot of do a lot of or a fair bit of conflict resolution through my work life. And um it's a it's a lot of mediation, a lot of just talking and respecting other people's opinions. I find, I find personally when people actually feel heard, you can you can get a long ways without the butting of heads, so to speak. So like I said, this the style we've used and I use in my life is a lot of a lot of really listening intently and under taking taking into account other people's feeling.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

And how do you think that would impact how you would serve on a municipal council?

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Well, I've I'll be honest with you, this is this is gonna be a new thing for me. Um I'm I really I'll be honest, I don't have an answer for that, but I look forward to look forward to seeing what what that answer is.

unknown 4:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:38

And always willing to always willing to learn as we go.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

So for sure.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

That is that is one of the things we're gonna learn.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

Why did you decide to run in this municipal election in particular?

SPEAKER_00 4:49

Um basically our our I ran in the last one as well. Um, and like I said, it's I've been involved with the fundy Albert election or political process since its inception. Um for the last number of years, it's been as a as a resident going to meetings and making sure that our voice was heard because well, it's uh we we are Ward II is not unique within Fundy Albert per se, but it is like it's it's one whole village, but then it's also a large municipal area or a large rural area that for the last few years, I know myself personally, I haven't I haven't really felt represented as as a rural citizen of Fundy Albert, and a lot of my neighbors feel the same way. Like they're and it's it's no surprise that the our politicians basically are doing the best they some of them are doing the best they can with the uh with what they've been given to. The province didn't necessarily implement this in the best way, but basically I I've listened to the people around me in the area, and like I say, I plan on being a voice for those people and trying to get our rural our rural situation isn't the same as the as the villages. So trying to form a balance there between the two.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

What do you feel are the most pressing issues facing Funday Albert?

SPEAKER_00 6:27

Like I said, I I really I'll be honest with you, I haven't formed much, uh formed a official platform per se, other other than to be to commit to being a strong voice for the residents. Um I I I believe in more town hall meetings and getting getting the politicians in front of the people where they can get the get the feedback from them more so than we've had. Um that's one thing that I've seen has been lacking in Fundy Albert and whatnot since since we've done it. I mean unfortunately, people don't people as a whole don't go out to the council meetings. So I feel it's important that the counselors go to the people in a setting where they are and to get their concerns that way. Okay because without without the people, we don't have a community.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

Right. Serving your community through municipal government can be quite time consuming. There are multiple meetings per month at various times of the day and evening, as well as community events, boards to join, and that sort of thing. Can you speak to any concerns that voters might have about how you will manage your time and how available you will be to serve your constituents?

SPEAKER_00 7:44

Um, that's that is one thing that has been heavy on my mind as I decided whether or not to whether or not I had the time to do this properly for the people. And I think at this point where I am in my professional career and whatnot, I'm lucky I have an employer that pretty much allows me to take the time off that I want and need. And we also have in our in our collective agreements with the city of Moncton, we have allotted time for municipal, so municipal and provincial politics. So um, yeah, I I myself personally I pretty much take all summer off to be home on my farm with the with the family and stuff. So that's that adds a huge degree of time. And like I say, I I'm very blessed to have a large amount of time off and the ability with my employer to to dedicate time to this. So okay. I look forward to look forward to seeing how that works. Definitely. They tell me the time's available, so we'll see.

SPEAKER_01 8:51

We'll see. Earlier this year, there was a lot of discussion in the public, on the news, um, social media, all those sorts of things around mandatory training for municipal counselors, the availability of that training, so on and so forth. Are you for or against required training for municipal counselors? And have you taken any type of municipal or political training thus far?

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Uh I'm strongly in favor of any training that you can get. I believe education is the lightest tool that we can carry in our pocket. And the more of it you can get, the better off you'll be in life. Um, as far as formal training in politics, I have done some through my union. And I look forward if we can get it through the municipal government, I'd look forward to taking part in that as well.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

And building off of that, the New Brunswick Local Governance Act is the primary legislation that governs municipalities, rural communities, and regional districts. And following the major reforms that happened in January of 2023, there were some key updates around service delivery changes, new local governments commit governance commissions, and the restructuring of local service districts. The act is what sets the framework for council powers, financial duties, and bylaws. Can you share with us your level of familiarity with the New Brunswick Local Governance Act?

SPEAKER_00 10:17

Um, I I have looked into some of it. I've been following uh since the inception of this and done some internet research and followed the government websites. I I actually find them not that clear to be honest with you know, I'd like to see it a government website be laid out a little more clearly, but uh I I would say my knowledge level right now is at a moderate at a moderate level.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

Um definitely not by no means an expert, but look forward to learning.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

Thank you. There have been many public conversations around concerns in regards to transparency of local council and perceived conflicts of interest that have occurred on decision making of counselors. What is your response to this concern and how do you feel it's impacted local governance?

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Well, unfortunately, I know I know exactly the situations that you're referring to. And unfortunately, I I believe we had some very good voices on council that for one reason or another made some decisions that really put them in a bad spot. I I think deep down on the inside the the people involved are good people, and uh I I have to believe that they did it without malicious intent, but it certainly it certainly did not bode well for anybody. Um as far as transparency myself, I I've I've never hidden from anybody and never hidden my feelings from anybody. So I'm kind of I'm kind of an open book that way. I'll tell you exactly how I feel. And if there's any if I've perceived there's any conflict, I mean I have no problem excusing myself from a conversation because I mean I just I just don't live my life that way.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

Okay. So as we've been talking, um, I mentioned before we we started our interview, I have gathered a lot of questions from the community. So putting them all together in this kind of one document and not us not be here all day has been a bit of a challenge. Um so all the questions we've right, we've talked about so far um have been from that area. We're gonna move into talking about some specific, I would call them files that affect municipal council or that municipal council has a role in in some capacity. The I'll do my best to put them into kind of one or two overarching question. And then if there's anything else that you want to add, um, feel free to expand upon anything, okay? So the first area to discuss is nature and environmental concerns. We know the village of Funday Albert has a lot of resources, but maybe the most obvious is our connection to the natural environment. It's so profound that when Funday Albert did its rebranding, they implemented the tagline friendly by nature. We're also part of the UNESCO Funday Biosphere Region, which is a huge and globally significant designation. How do you see the municipality's role in maintaining, managing, and utilizing our natural resources?

SPEAKER_00 13:33

Well, basically, your the way I see it is we are we are all stewards of the land we are on. And um it's no secret that there's both fiscal and environmental balance that needs to be had on everything. Um the way I look at it, if you poison your land and your people to the point where you have nothing to live on or for, there's not really a price that justifies that. Now, if I'm not not saying I'm completely against the natural resources being utilized and being harvested, but it has to be done with a very, very strong balance of power shifted towards the well-being of the people and the land as a whole that we work on. Because we do only have one planet. If if we don't look after it, you can have all the money you want coming in. If you got no place to live, you got nothing.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

And to piggyback off of that, one of the very specific questions that came up multiple times is questions around glycephate spraying of our forests in this region. And I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on that.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

I I do actually. Um, as I said in the introduction, I I do run a do run a farm in Albert Mines. Um, currently I'm managing and farming about a hundred acres of my own land, and I'm uh land steward for roughly 150 or 160 acres of the surrounding land. I I actually make hay all the way from Lower Coverdale and Ward 6 all the way to the Riverside Albert Marshes. And uh, I I've been a firm believer you can do way more for the environment by doing natural agriculture and grazing and stuff like that than you ever will by spraying chemicals. Um, I I am a firm believer that we need 90 percent of our world producing a hundred percent of our world's food. Um, currently we're under a government structure where one one to two percent of the land in the world is actually used to make all the food that we use. Um when you have that model, unfortunately, you have no choice but to spray because you just need to make so much food off such little land. Um, I think the closer we can get moving away from that model, getting back to large larger, more spread-out farms, and like the the whole model of glyphosate spraying and making a single single species forest is not a sustainable thing for our planet. So thank you. I would say in opposition to spraying glyphosate, and and it's not needed. You can grow everything you want to grow without it.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Okay. Thank you. Moving into the housing and poverty cost of living, kind of I pulled all those together. Um, we know there's always lots of discussion around challenges of living, but I think it's safe to say that the cost of living has been quite significant over the past few years. I just saw a research article this morning that said, I think it was the past four years, food prices have gone up something like 30%. So we know that this is having a huge impact on the residents of our village. Precarious housing is also a problem in our region. Statistics suggest that a significant number of our residents are within a couple of paychecks of risk of homelessness or being displaced. We know there's an increased use of the food banks and other food security resources, and I could go on and on and on. How have you or how will you use the full range of the municipality's tools and resources to increase access to affordable housing, reduce or eliminate homelessness, increase food security, or in general have a positive effect in any area of poverty reduction?

SPEAKER_00 17:58

Well, um I I kind of have a little bit of a little bit of a theory that's at odds with a lot of people on this topic, and that even though I wholeheartedly agree with everything you just said, we we have way too many people that are one paycheck away from not being able to make their mortgage payment. We have way too many people that can't get food. Um, where I have a problem with the establishment we have now is we have politicians and lobbyists that they're so focused on raising the income to combat it that they're losing they completely lose sight of the fact that reducing your expenditure going out, reducing your tax burden will exponentially raise your income and your ability to spend for yourself. Um I I am not I am not now nor ever been a big proponent for government housing because honestly, government doesn't do housing well. There's I believe there's a place where um government and public money should be spent, and that's on public services. Um housing for to use public money for one person's house to me is detrimental to the next person over. So I I would much rather see our public money used to provide public services, hospitals, schools, and stuff like that, roads, uh, electrical, and if we if we did a much better job of managing that, we we can we can eliminate a lot of the other problems easily.

unknown 19:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

Um when the government steps into food and housing, it doesn't generally work. Um that's why we have tax breaks for churches. Churches look after people. And I'm I've never been a highly religious person, but uh uh a well a well-balanced community will look after itself.

SPEAKER_01 20:17

To piggyback off of that, I think, is something you alluded to, which is economic development when we invest in certain areas. What do you see as a municipal council's role in regards to economic development and the best ways to grow our community in Funde Albert?

SPEAKER_00 20:37

Well, the base basically for economic development, if politic if politics just eliminates a lot of the red tape and roadblocks to getting things done, people will build businesses and people will employ. So I'm you hear a lot lately um tax the rich, um, higher corporate taxes for businesses. Um myself, I I believe in basically the opposite of that. Um I I believe that government should have a really firm grasp on their numbers, what it what it costs them to operate. If they can't if they can't do it or aren't doing it efficiently, then there needs to be accountability for the people in charge of that service. Um it basically boils down to if the government gets out of the people's way, the people will create businesses, the people will build houses, but they can't do that if every time they go to get a building permit, the government puts 15 extra roadblocks and three extra taxes and tolls in front of them. Your your those taxes and tolls will drive out any investment. Um right now, the big one in the news, I'm sure you've heard about it, is uh Cape and Rage. Uh Hopeful Cape Rocks is another one. There is our government officials are looking, and I I wouldn't profess to say they haven't done the homework or haven't done the studies, but to me, if you're looking at shutting down something that's costing $25,000 or $30,000 to run, because you don't think it creates enough bang for its buck, so to speak. But you can look at the numbers and see that it's bringing in $250 or $300,000 a year into the economy. Like we got to have a firm grasp on those numbers.

SPEAKER_01 22:41

Moving into the arts, culture, and history file. Do you think that history, art, and culture add value to a municipality?

SPEAKER_00 22:51

Certainly they do. Um again, it again that goes back to a happy citizenry. Um it it will grow upon itself. Um if you if you if you lose that art and culture, the the next generation coming up is the first thing they're doing is looking at moving.

SPEAKER_01 23:11

Um how do you see the municipality playing a role in that?

SPEAKER_00 23:18

That's that's kind of a different question. I'll be honest with you. I hadn't really thought too much on that side of it because I just I've never been in that world, but uh definitely open to um I believe I believe like uh I know years ago in Hillsborough, we used to have the library at uh the old Peck Hall. Um then for a while it was down at the old village office, like a little a little bit of public money into libraries and things like the train museum and things that keep your keep your citizenry engaged in the community will it will pay off in the long run. And again, it can't it can't be just money, good money thrown after bad, but it if if done correctly, I believe there's a benefit. And like I said, if if if all the culture goes away. And by that, I you have to protect it. You have to protect your culture.

unknown 24:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 24:17

Finally, looking at the infrastructure file. We know roads are always a concern for residents, especially this time of year. You can't go anywhere, and we're all complaining about it. Um, but there is so much more to roads. They might be the thing we think of first, but within Funday Albert, there's a wide range of infrastructure from one end of the region to the other. How have you or how would you utilize the range of the municipalities' tools and resources in managing, maintaining, or improving important municipal infrastructure or developing new projects?

SPEAKER_00 25:01

First of all, I I think a lot of what we're into right now, and this is not new to just fundy Albert, is we have a taxation imbalance. Um, we have people collecting taxes in Fredericton and Ottawa without any regard to where said taxes are going. So I'd be a huge proponent in lobbying all levels of government to keep local taxation in the local areas. Um, if we if we just use the gasoline tax from Albert County alone, we could make a huge difference in our roads. Whereas right now, all that all that gasoline tax just goes into a great big pot and a very small portion of it gets divvied out. So even even though I wouldn't call it a user pay system, I I don't think it would be a hard job for government, both at the municipal level and the provincial and the federal level, to come up with a matrix where vehicle registration fees, fuel taxes, and the like would all go back on a per capita basis to the municipality so that they could improve their infrastructure. And it's funny you mentioned roads. I we've we've had a I've had a number of talks with people in my area just in the last couple of weeks and whatnot. I've I've been on the Albert Mines Road my whole life. The last time that road was chip-sealed, I was still traveling by bicycle. I was 15 years old the last time they chip-sealed it. I remember that road being fully chip-sealed three times before that. So I mean, we we have we have uh we have an imbalance of power where the the formulas we're using don't work. So I I see that municipal governments have a huge responsibility to lobby both the provincial and the federal governments to try and bring that funding model to something that works.

SPEAKER_01 27:07

Okay. So thank you. And regardless of our individual feelings on amalgamation, and we've alluded to it a few times in our conversation today, we do have to live with the consequences, and it isn't going away. How will you approach the challenges related to this particular experience? And are you prepared to serve the greater community of Funday Albert?

SPEAKER_00 27:34

Actually, actually, yes. The the short answer to that is yes. The the broader answer is for all of the bad things with amalgamation, there are positives because the larger your pool of people, the larger your power with government, um, both at the municipal level and everywhere else. You it's no different here as it is in your own house. If you've got one person that wants cookies for lunch and one person doesn't, you're probably not having cookies for lunch. But if 10 people want cookies and one person wants something else, you're probably having cookies. So it's it's I I think amalgamation can actually be a good thing because instead of before when we had three little villages lobbying the government for their own personal agendas or public agendas, I guess, um, we we now have a much larger pool of people and can and votes to to go to government and get more done. So I I see I see it actually as a good thing, as much as it wasn't. So I didn't like it at first, but I understand it.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

Thank you so much. And so as we wrap up our time together today and our conversation, I want to give you an opportunity. If you have any final thoughts, is there anything we haven't covered that you would want municipal residents to know about you and your bid in this election?

SPEAKER_00 29:01

Um, no, I I think your questions were spot on. I think we covered a pretty good range of topics. Um, like I said, I I've just reiterated again. Um we we we need to get people engaged. That's gonna that to me is the kicker right there is to to get people to know, first of all, that there are issues because the vast majority of people, if it doesn't punch them in the face, they ignore it. So to get people out, get people engaged with what's going on in their local areas and go from there.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

Super. Thank you again for your time today, Jason, as we at Connecting Alberta County um work on this file and helping people get engaged. I think that's a great place to uh wrap it up today. This is Melody from Connecting Albert County, our coverage of the 2026 municipal election. If you have any questions uh for Jason or any of the other candidates that are running, you can find all their information on the province of New Brunswick, their election website. And you click on municipal government and there's a list of candidates there. Or if you need any help getting in touch, you can give us a call, shoot us a message at CAC, and we'll help get you contacted with them. Thanks for listening, and we will talk to you again.