New Brunswick elections expected Thursday as Higgs seeks to remain in power – New Brunswick

New Brunswick residents head to the polls.

The period for submitting written questions is expected to begin on Thursday morning when Premier Blaine Higgs visits the lieutenant governor, kicking off a four-week campaign against a backdrop of political controversy and divisive issues.

According to the provincial law on fixed voting dates, the vote will take place on October 21.

Of the major parties, Higgs’ Progressive Conservative Party has 25 seats, the Liberal Party led by Susan Holt has 16 seats and David Coon’s Green Party has three seats.

Twenty-five seats are needed for a majority.

According to a Narrative Research poll released on August 23, Holt remains the most preferred prime minister. The poll found that 44 percent of undecided voters said they would vote for the Liberals and 33 percent said they would vote for the PCs. Support for the Green Party was 17 percent and support for the NDP was four percent.

Two-thirds of the residents surveyed said they were dissatisfied with the performance of the current government, while a quarter said they were satisfied.

The results come from an independent telephone survey of 400 New Brunswick adults conducted between July 31 and August 17. The overall results were accurate to within ±4.9 percentage points in 95 out of 100 cases.

Rift within PC party

Before this legal election date, there was much speculation that early elections would be called.

A major rift arose within the PC party over Higgs’ decision to change the provincial policy on gender identity in schools: Policy 713.

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The new rules require students to get parental permission before teachers can use their preferred names and pronouns. Several MPs — including ministers — publicly disagreed with Higgs’s leadership on the issue, pushing the prime minister to the brink of calling an early election.

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The early vote did not take place, but a wave of resignations followed, as Higgs scrambled to fill cabinet posts and defend himself against accusations that his party was a sinking ship.

Higgs also faced criticism over his party’s policies and positions on abortion and climate change.

In May, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference that he believed Higgs did not respect “a woman’s right to choose.”

The premier was referring to a New Brunswick regulation that bars government funding for abortions performed outside hospitals, which was blamed for the closure earlier this year of Clinic 554, a private provider in Fredericton.

Promises already made

Election-style announcements and promises have already been made.

Earlier this summer, Higgs announced that the PCs would cut the Harmonized Sales Tax by two percentage points, to 13 percent, if re-elected.

Liberal Party leader Holt has pledged to maintain a balanced budget every year if she becomes prime minister after the election. The party is also promising 30 new collaborative care clinics costing $115.2 million over four years.

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Meanwhile, the Greens have promised a reduction in energy bills for people earning less than $70,000, saving an average of $25 a month, at a cost of $60 million a year.

Both the Liberals and the Greens have presented themselves to progressive voters as the strategic choice to replace Higgs.

When asked last week about strategic voting and vote splitting, GroenLinks leader Coon said he is not worried about it.

He rejects comparisons with liberals, who he says have a habit of campaigning on the left and governing on the right.

“People are looking at where they are, they are looking at the crises they are facing and this has been brought about by both Liberal and Conservative governments in recent years,” he said.

The Liberals’ main promise is 30 new community health clinics, costing $115.2 million over four years, and the Greens have promised a power bill discount for people earning under $70,000, saving an average of $25 a month, at a cost of $60 million annually.

— with files from The Canadian Press and Silas Brown of Global News

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