Blaine 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.

The Honourable Blaine Higgs MLA
34th Premier of New Brunswick
Incumbent
Assumed office November 9, 2018
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Lieutenant Governor	Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau Brenda Murphy
Deputy	Robert Gauvin
Preceded by	Brian Gallant
Leader of the Opposition
In office October 22, 2016 – November 9, 2018
Preceded by	Bruce Fitch
Succeeded by	Brian Gallant
Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick
Incumbent
Assumed office October 22, 2016
Preceded by	Bruce Fitch (Interim)
Minister of Finance
In office October 12, 2010 – October 7, 2014
Premier	David Alward
Preceded by	Greg Byrne
Succeeded by	Roger Melanson
Member of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly for Quispamsis
Incumbent
Assumed office September 27, 2010
Preceded by	Mary Schryer
Personal details
Born	(1954-03-01) March 1, 1954 Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s)	Marcia Higgs

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 Saint John, New Brunswick and graduated from the University of New Brunswick as an engineer.[3] He worked for 33 years for Irving Oil, rising to a senior executive overseeing oil transportation across eastern Canada and New England.[3][4] Higgs represents the electoral district of Quispamsis as a member,[5] 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.[6][7]

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. At 64 years of age at the time of swearing-in, Higgs is the oldest person to become Premier in New Brunswick history, and in April of 2019 became the oldest ever Premier in New Brunswick history, surpassing Leonard Percy de Wolfe Tilley in both records.[9]

Electoral record

Quispamsis

2018 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[10]

2014 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[11]

2010 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[12]

References

1. "Blaine Higgs | The Canadian Encyclopedia". Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
2. "Blaine Higgs wins N.B. PC leadership race on 3rd ballot". CBC News. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
3. 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.
4. "A look at New Brunswick Tory Leader Blaine Higgs". National Post. The Canadian Press. August 22, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
5. New Brunswick Votes 2010: Quispamsis. cbc.ca, September 27, 2010.
6. Leeder, Jessica (September 26, 2018). "Alliances start to form in wake of N.B. election". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
7. Benjamin, Graeme (September 24, 2018). "PCs win most seats in N.B. election, Liberals vow to maintain power". Global News. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
8. Poitras, Jacques (November 2, 2018). "Brian Gallant's minority government defeated after losing confidence vote". CBC News. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
9. 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.
10. Elections New Brunswick (February 22, 2019). "Thirty-Ninth General Election September 24, 2018" (PDF). Retrieved March 13, 2020.
11. Elections New Brunswick (October 6, 2014). "Declared Results, 2014 New Brunswick election". Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
12. "Thirty-seventh General Election - Report of the Chief Electoral Officer" (PDF). Elections New Brunswick. September 27, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2015.