N.B. premier to stay on as party leader and run in next election

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs delivers the State of the Province address in Fredericton, N.B. on Thursday, February 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Stephen MacGillivray

After a summer of political discontent, New Brunswick’s premier put questions about his plans for the future to rest Friday.

Blaine Higgs said he will stay on as N.B. Progressive Party leader and will run in the next election.

In a social media post, Higgs acknowledged that questions about his leadership have become increasingly relevant after months of internal dissent within his government.

“I recognize that all New Brunswickers rightly expect a government to be unified and focussed on achieving better outcomes for the province,” the premier said in the post.

Calls for a change in leadership before the 2024 election came from a number of directions within the party, including four past presidents releasing a letter in June urging Higgs to step down.

Two cabinet ministers also quit the premier’s front bench to sit as PC MLAs, objecting to the premier's leadership style, and to his changes to a policy on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.

An attempted review of Higgs’ leadership eventually failed.

In late June, Higgs shuffled his cabinet in an attempt to reset his agenda.

In Friday’s social media post, Higgs said it was from the encouragement of many colleagues and people from across the province that he made his decision to stay on as party leader.

Higgs represents the riding of Quispamsis.

He was first elected as an MLA in September 2010.

In 2016, he was chosen as the province’s PC leader.

In 2018, he formed a minority government, becoming the 34th premier of New Brunswick

In September 2020 his party formed a majority government.

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