The party was aligned with the historic federal Conservative party. When the federal party changed its name to the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 1942, the New Brunswick party did the same. The federal Progressive Conservative Party dissolved in 2003, to merge with the Canadian Alliance and a new Conservative Party of Canada was created. The provincial party has no formal link with the current federal Conservative Party, but several of its members and elected MLAs, including former premier Premier Lord, publicly endorsed the federal party and in some cases its candidates in the 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2015 federal elections.
Following the change of government in 2006 provincial election, Bernard Lord resigned as leader on December 13, 2006, and as the member of Moncton East. On December 19, Jeannot Volpé, MLA for Madawaska les Lacs-Edmundston, was selected as interim leader. On October 18, 2008, David Alward, MLA for Carleton, was elected leader of the party at the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick Leadership Convention in Fredericton. Alward beat his only opponent, Robert MacLeod, by a margin of 2,269 votes to 1,760.
In 2013, Saint John area MLA Dr. Jim Parrott, a retired heart surgeon and former head of the New Brunswick Heart Centre, was kicked out of the caucus after criticizing his government over health issues.
The controversial backbencher had spoken out about bilingualism and duality, and written a newspaper commentary about a lack of consultation with physicians. Before the 2014 election, he was allowed to return[3]
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.[8]
Higgs was appointed Premier on November 9, 2018. Higgs and the Progressive Conservatives were re-elected to a majority government in the 2020 provincial election held on September 14, 2020,
Throughout 2023 and 2024, the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick saw itself at a crossroads, with multiple PCNB cabinet ministers and MLAs breaking ranks with the party, with some politicians citing a misalignment with their own views and that of the social conservatism the party being described as exhibiting.[10]
In April 2023, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, led by minister Bill Hogan and premier Higgs, placed Policy 713, an educational policy setting minimum requirements for public schools and districts in the province related to individuals identifying and perceived as LGBTQ, under review, later releasing a revised version in June 2023.[11] The situation led to widespread criticism and internal division within the PC-led government.[12] Shortly following the revision, long-standing cabinet ministersDorothy Shephard and Trevor Holder.[13][14] Two additional cabinet ministers, Daniel Allain and Jeff Carr, expressed their “extreme disappointment in a lack of process and transparency” in a jointly signed letter following the revision.[15] On June 15, 2023, all four of these ministers voted with the opposition parties which favoured a Liberal motion opposing the policy revision and called for increased consultation on the policy,[16][15] leading to Higgs later dismissing both Allain and Carr from their respective cabinet positions, citing a breach of cabinet solidarity due to their support for the opposition motion on the policy.[17]
Throughout early 2024, multiple PC MLAs and/or cabinet ministers, such as Arlene Dunn, Mike Holland, Carr, Allain,[18][19] Shephard as well as Holder have all made announcements either resigning or opting out of running for re-election.[20] In April 2024, cabinet minister Gary Crossman, who previously announced that he would be retiring after his term,[21] also announced his resigning from the Legislative Assembly.[22]
Ideology and electoral base
The Tories have alternated power with the New Brunswick Liberal Association since Confederation. The party tends to hold a moderate Red Tory stance, being socially and fiscally centrist.[2]
For most of New Brunswick's history, the party had greater support among English speakers, while the Liberals were more popular among Acadians. However, initiatives by the governments of Richard Hatfield and Bernard Lord to include Acadians in the mainstream of New Brunswick life helped the party make inroads in Acadia. In fact, even though he was born in Quebec, former PremierBernard Lord is widely perceived to be an Acadian, due to his Francophone heritage and the fact that he was raised in Moncton where he attended French language schools and university.
The New Brunswick Liberal Association, more popularly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major provincial political parties in New Brunswick, Canada. The party descended from both the Confederation Party and the Anti-Confederation Party whose members split into left-wing and right-wing groups following the creation of Canada as a nation in 1867.
Rothesay is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada. The riding consists of the Town of Rothesay and its surroundings.
David Nathan Alward is a Canadian politician, who served as the 32nd premier of New Brunswick, 2010 to 2014.
Trevor Arthur Holder is a New Brunswick politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2024. At the time of his resignation, he was the longest serving member of the legislature.
Daniel Allain is a Canadian politician from New Brunswick. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick at the 2020 general election in the riding of Moncton East. He served as Minister of Local Government and Local Governance Reform until being dropped from the cabinet in June 27, 2023.
The People's Alliance of New Brunswick (PANB) is a provincial political party in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. It was formed in 2010. The party has been described as being right-wing populist. In the 2018 election, the party won three seats in the provincial legislature for the first time since its founding. The party advocated for "common sense" government and the abolition of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, with a transfer of that office's responsibilities to the office of the provincial ombudsman. The party's platform has been described as "a mixture of economic conservatism, rural populism and opposition to some aspects of official bilingualism and duality".
Kris Austin is the former leader of the People's Alliance of New Brunswick and current member of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick and an MLA in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. On October 13, 2022 he was appointed minister of public safety and solicitor-general by Premier Blaine Higgs.
Blaine Myron Higgs 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.
Dorothy Shephard is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 2010 provincial election. She represents the electoral district of Saint John Lancaster as a member of the Progressive Conservatives. She was born and raised in Saint John. Shephard was re-elected in the 2014, 2018 and 2020 provincial elections. Prior to becoming involved in politics, she owned and operated Benjamin Moore Colour Centre, a retail decorating store, for 17 years.
The 2014 New Brunswick general election was held on September 22, 2014, to elect 49 members to the 58th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada.
The 2018 New Brunswick general election was held on September 24, 2018, to elect the 49 members of the 59th New Brunswick Legislature, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada.
Dominic William Cardy is a Canadian politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. From the 2018 New Brunswick general election until his expulsion from the caucus in October 2022, Cardy represented the electoral district of Fredericton West-Hanwell for the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick. He now sits as an independent. During his time in government he was the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development under Blaine Higgs.
Brian Alexander Gallant is a Canadian politician who served as the 33rd premier of New Brunswick from October 7, 2014, until November 9, 2018. Of Acadian and Dutch descent, Gallant practised as a lawyer before winning the Liberal leadership in October 2012, securing the riding of Kent in a by-election on April 15, 2013, shortly followed by his swearing in as Leader of the Opposition. After the 2014 election, in which the Progressive Conservative government of David Alward was defeated, Gallant was sworn in as Premier at the age of 32.
Jeff Basil Carr is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 2014 provincial election. He represents the electoral district of New Maryland-Sunbury as a member of the Progressive Conservatives.
The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick held a leadership election on October 22, 2016, as a result of the resignation of David Alward on September 23, 2014, following his government's defeat in the 2014 provincial election. The Conservatives last had a leadership election in 2008.
Robert Gauvin is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 2018 New Brunswick general election. He currently represents the riding of Shediac Bay-Dieppe as a member of the New Brunswick Liberal Association.
The 2020 New Brunswick general election was held on September 14, 2020, to elect members of the 60th New Brunswick Legislature. The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick, led by Blaine Higgs, won a majority government.
The 2024 New Brunswick general election is scheduled to take place on or before October 21, 2024, according to the Legislative Assembly Act of 2017 which states that an election should be held every four years on the third Monday in October.
The New Brunswick Liberal Association held a leadership convention on August 6, 2022, in Fredericton, New Brunswick, as a result of Kevin Vickers' announcement on September 14, 2020, that he was resigning as party leader. Vickers resignation followed the outcome of the 2020 New Brunswick general election which saw the Progressive Conservative party, under Blaine Higgs, form a majority government and the Liberal Party lose three seats. The deadline for candidates to file their intention to run for the leadership was June 15, 2022. Voting by party members for the leadership occurred at a free in-person convention as well as remotely via phone and internet connected device and used a ranked ballot system.
Policy 713, also called the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity policy, is an education policy of the province of New Brunswick, Canada, that sets minimum requirements for public schools and districts in the province related to individuals identifying and perceived as LGBTQIA2S+.
1 2 Johnson, David (2011). Thinking Government: Public Administration and Politics in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p.79. ISBN9781442603967.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
