Defiant New Brunswick Premier Says He’s Seeking Re-election in 2024

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs speaks to media outside the Government House in Fredericton following a cabinet shuffle on June 27, 2023. Stephen MacGillivray/The Canadian Press

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs will not resign, despite festering dissention within the Progressive Conservative Party he helms, and intends to seek another mandate in 13 months, he affirmed on social media.

“This question has become increasingly relevant with the internal dissent that our government has experienced in the last six months,” Mr. Higgs said in a statement posted to X.

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

Mr. Higgs touted New Brunswick’s robust fiscal surplus, which tops all other provinces’, and strong population growth as reasons for his intention to continue stewarding the party.

“It is extremely important that we continue to build on this momentum,” his statement continued.

New Brunswick’s next election is on Oct. 21, 2024.

In spite of New Brunswick’s propitious economic conditions, Mr. Higgs was challenged late last month from within his own party by a cadre of MLAs. But they fell short of meeting the party’s numerical threshold for triggering a leadership review, and he was able to hold onto the party’s reins.

The row stemmed from revisions to Policy 713, established on Aug. 17, 2020, regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.

While some MLAs in the party took umbrage with the move, an undaunted Mr. Higgs countered that he was championing parental rights.

In a May 27 news release, the provincial government stated it was reviewing three sections of Policy 713 pertaining to name changes for children under the age of 16 without parental consent, transgender participation in female sporting events, and accessing washrooms on the basis of gender identity.

“Policy 713 will stay, and if anything, it will be strengthened because it will have better support from parents who will have greater clarity around sections that are vague and causing confusion,” the release said.

Parental rights has become an increasingly prominent issue in Canada. On Sept. 9, the federal Conservative Party’s delegates voted in favour of curtailing the breadth of gender-related medical procedures for minors.

The “Million Person March,” a countrywide protest against gender ideology purportedly targeting children, is scheduled for Sept. 20.