Blaine Higgs

Blaine Myron Higgs (born March 1, 1954) 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 (PC Party) since 2016.

Higgs graduated from the University of New Brunswick as an engineer, going on to spend 33 years working for Irving Oil. Higgs, a unilingual, vehemently opposed bilingualism is his early political journey and joined the right-wing, anti-bilingual New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party, of which he ran for leadership in 1989. As a Progressive Conservative, Higgs was first elected to the legislature in the 2010 provincial election and served as the Minister of Finance from 2010 to 2014 under the leadership of David Alward. In the 2018 provincial election, Higgs narrowly carried the PCs to a minority government, despite losing the popular vote. Higgs and the PCs were re-elected in the 2020 provincial election, though this time with a majority government. He is running for re-election in the 2024 provincial election.

Early life and education
Blaine Myron Higgs was born on March 1, 1954, in Woodstock, New Brunswick. The son of Carl, a customs officer, and Bertha, who taught in Fosterville, Higgs grew up in Forest City, a rural community in York County which sits along the Canada–United States border. His family was politically Liberal. Higgs was educated at a small elementary school, being taught by his mother and his aunt, later attending Canterbury High School. After graduating from high school, Higgs pursued mechanical engineering at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Fredericton.

Irving Oil career
Higgs graduated from UNB in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering; he started working for Irving Oil the following week, and spent the next 33 years working for the company and climbing the corporate ladder. He finished Queen's University's executive management training program in 1993, and further took Babson Executive Training and Education finance and leadership courses. Higgs retired from Irving Oil in 2010; by this time, he had been the director of logistics and distribution.

Early political activities
While still working for Irving Oil, Higgs, a unilingual, opposed the province's Official Languages Act, and proclaimed that an “inevitable association dedicated exclusively to the preservation of English Canadians” was needed. Upon its formation, Higgs became involved with New Brunswick's right-wing, anti-bilingual  Confederation of Regions Party (CoR). In 1985, Higgs handwrote a brief and presented it to the Guérette-Smith Commission, starting it by praising the United States for being "united under one flag, one government, and one language,” adding that “we will never achieve such a level of loyalty and unity when at the same time we embark on a process supporting two different cultures.” In 1989, Higgs ran for the leadership of the CoR Party, stating that he was in favour of "common-sense". In his bid for the COR leadership, Higgs "complained about francophones 'who can speak the common language, but refuse to'". He also 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".

MLA for Quispamsis
On May 6, 2010, Higgs launched his campaign for his debut candidacy in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick during the 2010 provincial elections shortly after retiring from Irving Oil. Representing the Progressive Conservative Party in the provincial electoral district of Quispamsis, Higgs cited property taxes as being one of the Kennebecasis Valley's largest issues during the election. During his campaign, he addressed his previous affiliation with the CoR Party, stating that he was against "forced bilingualism … as a legislated thing, quickly, overnight" at the time, adding that he had a change of views since then.

Finance minister
On October 12, 2010, Higgs was sworn-in as Minister of Finance, Minister responsible for the New Brunswick Liquor Corporation, Minister responsible for the New Brunswick Investment Management Corporation, Minister responsible for the New Brunswick Lotteries and Gaming Corporation, and Chair of the Board of Management. He also served as Minister of Human Resources until October 9, 2012. While Higgs was Minister of Finance, the decision was made to stop making regular payments to pension plans, later causing pension issues for Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) members leading to the strike in 2021.

Progressive Conservative Party leadership
Higgs represents the electoral district of Quispamsis as a member, 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.

2018 provincial election
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.

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.

Premier of New Brunswick (2018–present)
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.

Economic policy
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, to be "very costly". 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. 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.

In 2020, Higgs opted out of a federal program to fund public transit in New Brunswick, as he "misunderstood details" of the federal program designed to rescue municipal transit services. Higgs claimed multiple times that the funding was for capital projects, but according to a government backgrounder on the agreement, that specific program was meant to address the operating deficits and revenue shortfalls caused by the pandemic. Higgs also claimed that the program was only for larger provinces, stating, "that was a specific request for infrastructure funding for subways and for systems in Toronto and Montreal and BC — for the big cities." Documents later showed that Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Nova Scotia have received a combined $57.1 million from Ottawa's "Safe Restart" public transit aid program. New Brunswick asked for and received $0.

In 2022, CBC News and Radio-Canada published an article detailing about J. D. Irving operating offshore tax havens in Bermuda. The company used F.M.A. Limited., an insurance company based in Bermuda, in order to profit millions of dollars without taxes by insuring their vessels through F.M.A. by paying them premiums. Higgs responded to the news at the legislature by stating that he would not make modifications to provincial policies, stating that "because the tax strategies used by the companies were legal, there are no grounds for banning them from receiving government grants, loans or other subsidies."

Equalization
Higgs raised the idea of cutting equalization payments made to 'have-not provinces', including New Brunswick during a First Ministers' meeting in Montreal in 2018. The New Brunswick government budgeted for $1.8-billion worth of equalization transfers in 2018-19. Without 30 per cent of the budget coming through federal transfer payments, Higgs suggested attitudes might change about resource development.

Labour
Higgs's government had to deal with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) strike in October and November 2021. About 20,000 workers in the education, health, transportation and infrastructure sectors went on strike for 16 days. On November 14, Higgs's government reached a deal with CUPE. The agreement included raising wages for the workers.

Reconciliation
In 2020, the Higgs government was urged to call an inquiry into systemic racism following police officers shooting and killing Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi after they attacked police officers in separate incidents that summer. First Nations Chiefs later walked out on a meeting with Higgs following his refusal to commit to an independent inquiry, stating that they were 'losing faith' in him.

The following year, Higgs's government pulled out of tax-sharing agreements with 13 Mi'kmaq and Wolastoqey First Nations without consultation.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn announced in 2021 that the Higgs Government would hire an independent commissioner to examine systemic racism rather than call a public inquiry. Indigenous leaders later denounced the provincial government's plan to address systemic racism, calling it a form of systemic racism itself.

Following a major land title claim filed by Wolastoqey Chiefs, Higgs alleged that title claim "impacts every single land owner" in the province by claiming title to "private lands of any kind" with "no limits". Higgs's comments that the lawsuit might lead to Indigenous people winning control of 60 per cent of the province's land, including private homes and businesses was flatly contradicted by the 657-page statement of claims filed by the chiefs in court, which listed only five forestry companies, NB Power, and the federal and provincial governments.

Shortly afterwards, New Brunswick's Attorney General Ted Flemming sent a memo to government employees which asked them to cease making indigenous territorial acknowledgements that made reference to 'unceded' or 'unsurrendered' land. "As a result of this litigation, legal counsel for GNB and the Office of the Attorney General has advised that GNB employees may not make or issue territorial or title acknowledgements. This includes the use of territorial acknowledgements at meetings and events, in documents, and in email signatures." This policy faced growing backlash, including within the Premier's own cabinet. A leaked series of emails revealed Education Minister Dominic Cardy and Transportation Minister Jill Green wrote to the premier complaining that the new policy was causing unnecessary conflict and “creates the impression of a government intentionally reinforcing racist behaviour.”

COVID-19 pandemic
Higgs led the provincial government response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Brunswick. On March 19, 2020, the government declared a state of emergency. Higgs tested positive for COVID-19 on December 31, 2021.

2020 re-election
Higgs argued that stability in government was required for the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recovery. The snap election was called on August 17, 2020. Higgs and the Progressive Conservatives were re-elected to a majority government in the 2020 provincial election held on September 14.

2023 leadership turmoil
In May 2023, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development under the Higgs government revealed that it was putting Policy 713 under review due to "concerns and misunderstandings of its implementation" as well as "hundreds of complaints from parents and teachers," as later claimed by department minister Bill Hogan, who, despite this claim, failed to provide evidence. Another reason for the review of this policy, as later stated by Higgs on May 16, was that parents "deserve to be aware if their child goes by a different name or pronouns in school, even if the child hasn’t come out to them." Higgs also considered it problematic for a child to "purposely" hide their identity, in response to the policy, according to Higgs, allowing an individual under the age of 16 to go by a new name without parental knowledge. On June 8, 2023, Policy 713 was revised by Hogan and was announced to start taking effect on July 1. Hogan's department updated three of the policy's sections under self-identification, sports participation and universal spaces.

Policy 713 has been criticized for facilitating forced premature outing, misgendering, and deadnaming and for promoting homophobia and transphobia.

On June 15, Minister of Social Development Dorothy Shephard resigned from cabinet by handing Higgs a handwritten resignation letter on the floor of legislature after a voting for an opposition motion calling for further studies on Policy 713. In subsequent media interviews, she cited frustration with Higgs' leadership approach as the reason for her resignation, with his management of Policy 713 being the culmination of her frustrations.

Higgs has received at least a dozen letters from his own party, including current party members and riding association presidents, to trigger a leadership review. Some letters were ruled invalid without explanation. The provincial council will vote to schedule a convention once they receive enough letters.

Throughout early 2024, multiple Progressive Conservative politicians such as Arlene Dunn, Mike Holland, Jeff Carr, Daniel Allain, Shephard as well as Trevor Holder have all made announcements either resigning or opting out of running for re-election. Carr, who made his announcement in February, made an additional note claiming that the Progressive Conservative party had changed under Higgs. Allain expressed his disagreement with the party's newer involvement in social conservatism, considering it to go against the party's "natural instincts".

Higgs hired Steve Outhouse as his principal secretary and campaign manager for the 2024 New Brunswick general election. Outhouse, who previously campaigned for the re-election of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, was paid a monthly salary of $20,776 in taxpayers' money, or $125,656 total by Higgs, which drew criticism from David Coon for being well above the average of around $150,000 to $175,000 annually.