There will be two additional empty seats in the New Brunswick legislature when MLAs return to Fredericton next week.

The ridings of Portland-Simonds and Hampton are now considered to be vacant, according to the legislature’s website.

Those seats belonged to MLAs Trevor Holder and Gary Crossman, who recently announced they were stepping down.

Holder, a former cabinet minister, announced in March that he would be leaving politics after 25 years in office.

Crossman resigned as environment minister in April and said he would also be stepping down as MLA in the near future.

The two join former Tory MLA and cabinet minister Arlene Dunn, who announced her resignation in February.

It is likely their seats will remain vacant until the next provincial election, which is scheduled for October.

That is because the premier does not have to call a byelection within 12 months of a scheduled general election.

The Progressive Conservatives currently have 26 seats, the Liberals have 16 seats, the Green Party has three seats, and there is one independent MLA.