FREDERICTON - New Brunswick voters have elected a Liberal majority government, tossing out the incumbent Progressive Conservatives after six years in power and handing the reins to the first woman ever to lead the province.
Liberal Leader Susan Holt is a relative newcomer to the province鈥檚 political scene, having won a byelection last year, eight months after she became party leader.
"Tonight's results make it clear that New Brunswickers are ready for a change," she told a boisterous crowd of supporters in downtown Fredericton during an energetic speech that showed off her skills as a fluently bilingual premier-designate.
"We don't take it lightly that you have put your trust in myself and my team and that you have hope for a brighter future."
Flanked by her three young daughters, Holt paid tribute to several women who were trailblazers in provincial politics, including former NDP leader Elizabeth Weir and Ald茅a Landry, the first Acadian woman in New Brunswick named as a cabinet minister.
The 47-year-old former business advocate and public servant led the Liberals to victory after a 33-day campaign, thwarting Blaine Higgs鈥檚 bid to secure a third term as Tory premier. The Liberal win marks a strong repudiation of Higgs鈥檚 pronounced shift to more socially conservative policies.
With all of the polls reporting, the Liberals won 31 of the legislature's 49 seats. The Conservatives had 16 and the Greens two.
When the Liberal win was announced, Holt's supporters stood and roared their approval. Amid the cheers and whistles, some rattled noisemakers, others thumped tables. Some women, including Ald茅a Landry, used tissues to wipe tears from their eyes.
Higgs, meanwhile, lost in his southern New Brunswick riding of Quispamsis. In a speech to supporters in the riding, he confirmed that he would begin a leadership transition process.
"It's certainly not the night we hoped for," Higgs told the crowd at the St. Louis Bar and Grill in a strip mall. "Nevertheless, it is what it is. The people of New Brunswick have spoken .... Susan, you've earned the trust of the people."
During his speech Monday night, Green Party Leader David Coon pledged to continue building the party, but he then turned his sights on Higgs.
"One thing is for sure," he told the crowd at Dolan鈥檚 Pub in Fredericton. "We know that Blaine Higgs is no longer the premier of this province." The audience responded with raucous cheers.
The election race was largely focused on health care and affordability but was notable for the remarkably dissimilar campaign styles of Holt and Higgs.
The 70-year-old Tory leader, a mechanical engineer and former Irving Oil executive, led a low-key campaign, during which he didn't have any scheduled public events on at least 10 days 鈥 and was absent from the second leaders debate on Oct. 9.
Holt missed only two days of campaigning and submitted a 30-page platform with 100 promises, a far heftier document than the Tories鈥 two-page platform that included 11 pledges.
As well, Holt repeatedly promised to bring a balanced approach to governing, pledging a sharp contrast to Higgs鈥檚 鈥渙ne-man show taking New Brunswick to the far right."
鈥淲e need a government that acts as a partner and not as a dictator from one office in Fredericton,鈥 she said in a recent interview with The 好色tv Press.
Higgs focused on the high cost of living, promising to lower the provincial harmonized sales tax by two percentage points to 13 per cent.
Holt spent much of the campaign rolling out proposed fixes for a health-care system racked by a doctor shortage, overcrowded emergency rooms and long wait-times. She promised to open 30 community health clinics across the province by 2028.
When the election was called on Sept. 19, the Conservatives held 25 seats in the 49-seat legislature. The Liberals held 16 seats, the Green Party had three, there was one Independent and four vacancies.
Higgs was hoping to become the first New Brunswick premier to win three consecutive elections since Liberal Frank McKenna won his third-straight majority in 1995. But it was clear from the start that Higgs would have to overcome some big obstacles.
On the first day of the campaign, a national survey showed he had the lowest approval rating of any premier in the country. That same morning, Higgs openly mused about how he was perceived by the public, suggesting people had the wrong idea about who he really is.
鈥淚 really wish that people could know me outside of politics,鈥 he said, adding that a sunnier disposition might increase his popularity. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know whether I鈥檝e got to do comedy hour or I鈥檝e got to smile more.鈥
Still, Higgs had plenty to boast about, including six consecutive balanced budgets, a significant reduction in the province鈥檚 debt, income tax cuts and a booming population.
Higgs's party was elected to govern in 2018, when the Tories formed the province's first minority government in almost 100 years. In 2020, he called a snap election 鈥 marking the first province to go to the polls during the COVID-19 pandemic 鈥 and won a slim majority.
Since then, at least 12 Tory caucus members have stepped down after clashing with the premier, some of them citing what they described as an authoritarian leadership style and a focus on conservative policies that represented a hard shift to the right.
A caucus revolt erupted last year after Higgs announced changes to the gender identity policy in schools. When several Tory lawmakers voted for an external review Higgs dropped dissenters from cabinet. A bid by some party members to trigger a leadership review went nowhere.
On Monday night, Higgs's chief of staff, Paul D鈥橝stous, confirmed that the internal party strife hurt the Tories' chances for re-election.
"We went through almost 18 months of some of our colleagues that did not agree with the positions we were taking on certain policies," he said at the campaign gathering. "We have to deal with that."
This report by 好色tvwas first published Oct. 21, 2024.
