Blaine Higgs speaks with reporters on Aug. 17, 2020, after meeting with the lieutenant-governor and asking her to dissolve the legislature. (Photo: CPAC screengrab)
Blaine Higgs is once again seeking re-election in the Quispamsis riding.
This will be the Progressive Conservative party leader’s fourth time running, his second as leader of the PCs.
Higgs says as the party leader his focus is on the macro, as he looks to the needs of the entire province.
“My focus has always been larger in scope. There have been particular community projects I’ve certainly been involved with, including the roundabout along the very busy highway heading toward the Gondola Point ferry that’s long been listed as a safety concern,” Higgs said.
He lists mental health, taxation and the stability of the province’s economy as his focus during this campaign.
Higgs was first elected to Legislature in 2010, beating then Liberal incumbent Mary Schryer. He’s earned more than 50 per cent of the vote each time he’s run. This year he’ll campaign against a fresh slate of candidates, with no repeats from the 2018 election.
He’s also seen his popularity grow this year, with the province avoiding the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic thus far. According to polling site Angus Reid, as of May of this year, Higgs’ approval rating is the highest among all premiers at 80 per cent.
Despite Higgs’ COVID-19-related bounce, polling also suggests the decision to send voters back to the polls was an unpopular one. Narrative Research found that more than half of New Brunswickers disapproved of a fall election.
Higgs believes the election can be held safely, and the province needs to move forward despite the pandemic.
“People can vote safely just as they can go shopping to get groceries, or hardware store, or whatever,” he said. “We have to keep moving. Society really demands it, we can’t sit in idle.”
One issue that will plague whichever party controls the Legislature is the economic downturn caused by COVID-19.
Higgs believes his government can manage the $300 million deficit prudently, but that the 2021 budget will be when we could begin to see recovery.
“Managing is the key word,” Higgs said. “What I really want to avoid is any new taxes on the citizens of our province. We need people to be able to invest here, and be able to spend their money here, and not have the government take more of it, thinking they can do better.”
Higgs says his party would do better with the tax money they currently hold.
One controversial campaign stance for Higgs’ government has been the funding of Clinic 554. The community clinic in Fredericton provides abortion services and specialized healthcare for 2SLGBTQ+ individuals.
The Higgs government disagrees with activists that say his party is breaking the law by refusing to fund abortions at the clinic.
Earlier this year, the federal government threatened to withhold more than $140,000 in health transfer payments to the province for refusing to provide adequate abortion access. The Liberal government ultimately chose to send the transfer payment in full, after the COVID-19 pandemic was announced.
The PC leader says this tactic of withholding transfer payments would be coercive and undemocratic.
“It’s not a case of bribery or blackmail,” Higgs said. “It’s a case of, there’s a court system that would hear that case and say ‘do we provide access?’ And our contention is: yes, we do. And it’s very evident that we do.”
He repeated his encouragement that anyone who feels the government is out of line to challenge them in court.
“It’s interesting. Every election, this becomes an issue because it’s, I guess one that can be picked up publicly, and promoted publicly, regardless of whether it meets the Canada Health Act, or it doesn’t. But I would suggest if someone really believed it doesn’t meet the Canada Health Act they would challenge it through the process that exists.”
