EDITOR’S NOTE: As part of our series looking at the issue of intimate partner violence in the province, we spoke with a New Brunswick advocate and survivor who shared her story. You can read that story at this link.
With the highest rate of police-reported case in Atlantic Canada, it’s clear that intimate partner violence is a real and urgent problem in New Brunswick.
And it’s a problem that the provincial minister responsible for women’s equality is well aware of.
Before Lyne Chantal Boudreau became minister, she was impacted by family violence personally. She also ran a fashion line that donated funds to a family violence charity.
“It’s very, very difficult to make sure that people are feeling safe to talk about their experience,” she said.
“The more we put some resources for helping those people, the more we can take care of them.”
Boudreau was designated minister responsible for women’s equality last November. For her, a main focus is supporting those who have experienced intimate partner violence and encouraging people to reach out for help.
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“In my role, and I think all of the citizen’s role, is just to make sure that (people) can have access to the resources they need. That’s the most important thing for me,” she said.
Statistics from 2023 show New Brunswick had the highest rate of police-reported intimate partner violence in Atlantic Canada. New Brunswick reported a rate of 449 per 100,000 population, while Nova Scotia reported 338, Prince Edward Island reported 288 and Newfoundland reported 420.
The national rate was 354 per 100,000.
Advocacy and support groups in New Brunswick that work with intimate partner violence survivors have been telling the provincial government about the growing need for resources.
“The threat level seems to be increasingly getting higher,” Jana Comeau, the executive director of Hestia House, a shelter for women and children, told Global News in March.
The growing demand for help means a growing demand for fundraising dollars — something that’s hard to come by for all non-profit groups.
“(Support organization) are already stretched so thin that ideally they wouldn’t have to fundraise. Ideally, they would get everything they need from the provincial government,” said Maureen Levangie, with the Domestic Violence Association of New Brunswick, in March.
In the province’s latest budget, the Holt government announced $9.2 million for gender-based violence services. The funds, which are part of the women’s equality 2025-26 budget, include $4.6 million for the transition house program, $1.5 million for the second-stage housing program, and $2.1 million for the Domestic Violence Outreach Program.
“It’s not about the political thing here. It’s a human thing,” said Boudreau.
“Hopefully, each person who will listen to this interview, they will understand and they will feel that they can make something for those people who are living that kind of violence.”
Anyone experiencing intimate partner violence can call 911 in the case of an emergency. Support is available in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick by dialing 211.
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