Blaine Higgs

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The Honorable

Blaine Higgs

MLA
Blaine Higgs 2019.jpg
Higgs in 2019
34th Premier of New Brunswick
Assumed office
November 9, 2018
MonarchElizabeth II
Lieutenant GovernorJocelyne Roy-Vienneau
Brenda Murphy
DeputyRobert Gauvin
Preceded byBrian Gallant
Leader of the Opposition
In office
October 22, 2016 – November 9, 2018
Preceded byBruce Fitch
Succeeded byBrian Gallant
Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick
Assumed office
October 22, 2016
Preceded byBruce Fitch (Interim)
Minister of Finance
In office
October 12, 2010 – October 7, 2014
PremierDavid Alward
Preceded byGreg Byrne
Succeeded byRoger Melanson
Member of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly
for Quispamsis
Assumed office
September 27, 2010
Preceded byMary Schryer
Personal details
Born (1954-03-01) March 1, 1954 (age 67)
Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative
Other political
affiliations		Confederation of Regions Liberal
Spouse(s)Marcia Higgs

Blaine Myron Higgs (born March 1, 1954)[1] is a Canadian politician who is the 34th and current premier of New Brunswick since 2018 and leader of the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party since 2016. Higgs was re-elected to a majority government in the 2020 provincial election.

Higgs ran for the leadership of the New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party in 1989. Higgs was first elected to the legislature in the 2010 provincial election and served as Minister of Finance from 2010 to 2014 in the government of David Alward.[2]

Life and career[]

Higgs was born in Woodstock, New Brunswick,[3] and graduated from the University of New Brunswick as an engineer.[4] He worked for 33 years for Irving Oil, rising to a senior executive overseeing oil transportation across eastern Canada and New England.[4][5] Higgs retired from Irving Oil in 2010.[3]

Politics[]

Higgs has belonged to three political parties and ran for the leadership of two.

Liberal Party[]

Before joining the Confederation of Regions party, Higgs was a Liberal party member but left the Liberals because he opposed Canadian bilingualism.[6]

Confederation of Regions Party[]

Higgs opposed the New Brunswick Official Languages Act. In his mid-thirties, he ran for the leadership of the New Brunswick Confederation of Regions (COR) party,[3] stating that he was in favour of "common-sense".[7] In his bid for the COR leadership, Higgs "complained about francophones 'who can speak the common language, but refuse to'".[8] In his COR leadership bid, Higgs supported an elected senate, opposed the Meech Lake Accord, favoured fixed terms for government, and stated "We do not have an obligation to cater to those people who can speak the common language, English, and refuse to do so".[9] While running for the COR leadership, Higgs stated "I have not caught up with this modern way of thinking".[6]

Progressive Conservative Party[]

Higgs represents the electoral district of Quispamsis as a member,[10] and, since October 22, 2016, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick. On that date the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick leadership election was held and on the third ballot he defeated former Saint John Mayor Mel Norton, 1,563 to 1,169.[2]

In the 2018 provincial election, Higgs and his party won the largest share of seats in the legislature, 22, compared to 21 for the governing Liberal Party of New Brunswick, which opted to attempt to remain in power as a minority government by presenting a Throne Speech in hopes of retaining the confidence of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick.[11][12]

On November 2, 2018, the Progressive Conservatives and the People's Alliance combined to defeat Premier Brian Gallant's Liberal minority government via a non confidence vote in the legislature.[13]

Higgs was appointed Premier on November 9, 2018. At 64 years of age at the time of swearing-in, Higgs is the oldest person to be sworn in as Premier in New Brunswick history, and in April 2019 became the oldest ever Premier in New Brunswick history, surpassing Leonard Percy de Wolfe Tilley in both records.[14]

In 2019, Higgs began repealing several financial assistance programs for New Brunswick students attending post-secondary institutions. His party deemed programs such as the Timely Completion Benefit, established in May 2009,[15] to be "very costly".[16] The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick believed redistributing the funds allocated to this program through a tuition tax credit was a "better" way to reach more students.[17] This move, along with the removal of the Free Tuition Program, were highly criticized by students across the province, with some emphasizing that there is no longer any incentive to remain in New Brunswick to work or study.[18]

Higgs and the Progressive Conservatives were re-elected to a majority government in the 2020 provincial election held on September 14, 2020.

Electoral record[]

Quispamsis[]

hide2020 New Brunswick general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Blaine Higgs 5,697 68.11 +11.23
Liberal Robert Hunt 1,225 14.64 -10.55
Green Addison Fach 528 6.31 +0.92
New Democratic Caitlin Grogan 501 5.99 +3.09
People's Alliance Sara Hall 414 4.95 -4.69
Total valid votes 8,365
Total rejected ballots 24 0.29 +0.13
Turnout 8,389 69.86 +1.69
Eligible voters 12,008
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +11.23
hide2018 New Brunswick general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Blaine Higgs 4,691 56.87 +5.52
Liberal Aaron Kennedy 2,078 25.19 -6.41
People's Alliance Keith Porter 795 9.64 +8.13
Green Mark Woolsey 445 5.40 +2.25
New Democratic Ryan Jewkes 239 2.90 -9.50
Total valid votes 8248 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 13 0.16
Turnout 8261 69.89
Eligible voters 11,820
Progressive Conservative notional gain Swing +5.97
Source: Elections New Brunswick[19]
hide2014 New Brunswick general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Blaine Higgs 3,884 51.35 +0.68
Liberal Mary Schryer 2,390 31.60 -2.61
New Democratic Angela-Jo "AJ" Griffin 938 12.40 +0.99
Green Patrick Kemp 238 3.15 -0.55
People's Alliance Brandon Gardner 114 1.51 –
Total valid votes 7,564 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 19 0.25
Turnout 7,583 64.76
Eligible voters 11,710
Progressive Conservative notional hold Swing +1.64
Source: Elections New Brunswick[20]
hide2010 New Brunswick general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Blaine Higgs 4,076 50.67 +6.69
Liberal Mary Schryer 2,752 34.21 -17.08
New Democratic Matthew Doherty 918 11.41 +6.68
Green Mark Woolsey 298 3.70 –
Total valid votes 8,044 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 30 0.37
Turnout 8,074 69.29
Eligible voters 11,652
Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +11.88
Source: Elections New Brunswick[21]

References[]

  1. ^ "Blaine Higgs | The Canadian Encyclopedia". Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Blaine Higgs wins N.B. PC leadership race on 3rd ballot". CBC News. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Poitras, Jacques. "Blaine Higgs". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b MacDonald, Michael (November 2, 2018). "New Brunswick's next premier is a fiscal hawk and former Irving Oil executive". CTV News. The Canadian Press. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  5. ^ "A look at New Brunswick Tory Leader Blaine Higgs". National Post. The Canadian Press. August 22, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Hanton, Elizabeth (August 25, 1989). "COR Candidates Outline Views". The Daily Gleaner. p. 19.
  7. ^ Anonymous (September 8, 1989). "Four Seek COR Leadership Nod". The Daily Gleaner. p. 3.
  8. ^ Richardson, Don (September 7, 1989). "CoR candidates say their former parties fall short". The Daily Gleaner. p. 3.
  9. ^ Billings, Louella (September 11, 1989). "Pafford Wins Leadership on First Ballot". The Daily Gleaner. p. 2.
  10. ^ New Brunswick Votes 2010: Quispamsis. cbc.ca, September 27, 2010.
  11. ^ Leeder, Jessica (September 26, 2018). "Alliances start to form in wake of N.B. election". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  12. ^ Benjamin, Graeme (September 24, 2018). "PCs win most seats in N.B. election, Liberals vow to maintain power". Global News. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  13. ^ Poitras, Jacques (November 2, 2018). "Brian Gallant's minority government defeated after losing confidence vote". CBC News. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  14. ^ Poitras, Jacques (November 9, 2018). "8 things you need to know about New Brunswick's next premier, Blaine Higgs". CBC News. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  15. ^ Timely Completion Benefit now available. , May 13, 2009.
  16. ^ Province Makes Changes To Tuition Bursary Program. , April 9, 2019.
  17. ^ Changes to tuition bursary program mean more students will get less money. cbc.ca, April 9, 2019.
  18. ^ University students face 'lose-lose' scenario after free tuition program scuppered. cbc.ca, April 13, 2019.
  19. ^ Elections New Brunswick (February 22, 2019). "Thirty-Ninth General Election September 24, 2018" (PDF). Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  20. ^ Elections New Brunswick (October 6, 2014). "Declared Results, 2014 New Brunswick election". Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  21. ^ "Thirty-seventh General Election - Report of the Chief Electoral Officer" (PDF). Elections New Brunswick. September 27, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
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