Former New Brunswick premier says Tories must define party’s values and identity

Former New Brunswick premier Blaine Higgs poses for a photo at the Progressive Conservative annual general meeting in Fredericton on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Hina Alam

FREDERICTON — New Brunswick’s Tories need to be united and have a clear Conservative identity, says former premier Blaine Higgs.

The Progressive Conservative who served as New Brunswick’s premier from 2018 to 2024, was at the party’s annual general meeting in Fredericton on Saturday.

“There has to be a reflection of what it means to be a Conservative. We had 10 per cent or so of our team who didn’t like me personally and were willing to sacrifice the province to actually ensure that we didn’t get elected,” he said in an interview.

“Are they Conservatives? Are they Liberals? Are they NDP? Are they Green? Because they worked hard for the Liberals and endorsed other candidates. And so it’s one thing to sit out the election, but it’s another to actively campaign and work against. I don’t think they’re Conservatives, and I think they should join the party they believe in.”

Higgs faced criticism from within his ranks about his leadership style and was described as a micromanager during his term as premier. But after his government introduced the province’s policy on gender identity in schools in June 2023, he faced active dissent in the Tory caucus. Changes to Policy 713 required students to get parental consent before teachers can use their preferred names and pronouns.

Six Tory ministers sided with the opposition Liberals and voted against the measure, asking the Child and Youth Advocate to review the changes to Policy 713. The ministers did not seek re-election.

Policy 713 was scrapped by the Liberals in December 2024, following their landslide election in October last year. The Liberals got 31 seats, the Progressive Conservatives hold 16 and the Greens have two.

A group of grassroots volunteers who would have spent days before the election last year knocking on doors, handing out flyers and other behind-the-scenes work involved in getting candidates elected watched from the sidelines.

One of the dissenters was Daniel Allain. He expressed “extreme disappointment” with the changes made to Policy 713 and was dropped from cabinet in 2023.

Earlier this month, Allain announced he would be running to be leader of the Progressive Conservatives.

Higgs sidestepped the question of whether he supports Allain, saying he wasn’t going to get into the issue “certainly at this stage of the game.”

He said he hopes there are many entrants so it brings excitement, enthusiasm and competition.

“It shows interest in the party, it shows people willing to get involved and it shows the concern that people have for the mess that’s being created right now,” he said.

In an earlier interview, Allain described himself as fiscally conservative and socially progressive, and said the provincial Tories were a “big tent” party with room for people with differing views.

But Higgs said there has to be some criteria when it comes to who is admitted under that tent. During his time as premier, a former provincial NDP leader, Dominic Cardy, resigned and joined the Progressive Conservatives in 2017. Cardy would later get elected as a Progressive Conservative in 2018 and became the education minister in Higgs’ cabinet, only to issue a blistering resignation in October 2022 that called out the premier’s leadership style.

“One might argue how that worked out,” Higgs said of the “big tent” approach.

Kris Austin, who held the public safety minister portfolio under Higgs, said last week that he was considering running for Tory leader.

“I’m leaning more towards it, but I haven’t made a final decision yet, and I’m hoping (to decide) in the next little bit,” he said, in comments originally published by the Telegraph-Journal. “I’ve had a lot of conversations about it. We’re still discussing it again.”

Glen Savoie, interim party leader, emphasized the importance of the grassroots movement. He stressed the need for the party to be led by the collective beliefs and direction of its members, rather than relying too heavily on any single leader.

He also acknowledged the right to dissent, when asked about those who sat out the October 2024 provincial election.

“I disagree with people on certain things, but that I respect the fact that they had the choice to make that, and that as a person who believes in democracy, that I must always defend their right to make those choices.”

His job, Savoie said, is to make sure the party is organized, energized and financially ready so that when the next leader comes in, that person can propel the Tories to victory in the election.

Higgs ruled out running for party leader.

While he “shifted gears” quickly after his election loss, he said his wife took a little longer to get over it.

Losing an election is tough but watching the reversal of fiscal and social policies that he fought to implement -- even though some were unpopular -- is the more “devastating” part, he said. It’s tough to watch the direction that the province is headed in, he added.

“So I watch the Blue Jays. And that’ll last for another 10 days, maybe or so.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2025.

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press