New Brunswick Premier Set to Shuffle Cabinet After Two Ministers Resigned This Month

New Brunswick Premier Set to Shuffle Cabinet After Two Ministers Resigned This Month
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs speaks in Fredericton, N.B., on Feb. 9, 2023. Stephen MacGillivray/The Canadian Press
The Canadian Press
Updated:
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New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs will shuffle his cabinet Tuesday.

Two ministers stepped down earlier this month, both of them protesting his leadership style and changes made to the province’s policy on sexual orientation in schools.

Dorothy Shephard, who served as social development minister, resigned on the floor of the house June 15 after voting with the Opposition to call on the province’s child and youth advocate to consult with stakeholders on the changes made to Policy 713.

She said she stepped down not just because of changes made to the policy but also because of Higgs’s habit of dismissing input from cabinet and the Progressive Conservative caucus.

On Friday, Education Minister Trevor Holder resigned, saying that under Higgs, the caucus has been less about consensus and more about the premier getting his way.

It remains unclear whether the premier will go beyond replacing Shephard and Holder when the new cabinet is announced.