FREDERICTON — New Brunswick's election campaign has offered voters a sharp division in viewpoints for the future of the province, especially between the two leading candidates for the premier's office. Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs, a unilingual former oil executive running for a third term as premier, presented voters with a two-page platform containing 11 promises, a few of which signal the social conservative bent his party has taken. And he has been noticeable in his absence — on roughly one-third of the days since he called the election on Sept.
19, Higgs has held no public events. The Liberals, by contrast, have made 100 promises — many of which focus on health care and housing — and bilingual leader Susan Holt, a former consultant and provincial civil servant, has taken full advantage of the campaign's 33 days, taking few off. Higgs summed up Monday's election as one of the most significant in the province's history.
"There's very stark differences between the parties that are running," he told reporters last week. "I truly believe that the outcome will define the future of this province." The Tories promised to cut the harmonized sales tax by two percentage points, from 15 per cent to 13 per cent, and to "respect parents.
" The latter promise refers to a 2023 decision by the Tory government to require teachers to get parental consent before they can use the preferred first names and pronouns of transgender children under 16. The Liberals have pro.
