Higgs says he will get results exactly as he had at Irving Oil

FREDERICTON – The man who is about to become New Brunswick's next prime minister has a well-deserved reputation as a tight financial director, whose executive summary includes 33 years in senior management at Irving Oil.

Progressive Conservative leader Blaine Higgs, a 64-year-old engineer and former finance minister, was hired by Irving Oil a week after graduating from the University of New Brunswick. He was eventually promoted to the position of Director of Distribution, overseeing the transportation of oil in Eastern Canada and New England.

His vast experience in the business world has influenced his approach to politics. Higgs views citizens as clients and his campaign for the 24 September elections was rich in references for results.

"I came from a company in which you had to get results to survive," said Higgs at the publication of the Progressive Conservative platform.

"New Brunswickers pay the bills, but they do not get the service based on the money they spend."

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Higgs had promised to cut government waste and balance the province's budget in two years – a year earlier than his outgoing prime minister, Brian Gallant.

And, like other right-wing politicians, he also promised not to raise taxes, while proposing a modest spending plan.

"We will set ambitious goals and achieve them. We do not need more taxes, we need results, "Higgs said Friday after the fall of the Gallant government in a vote of confidence.

"We conducted a principled campaign and believed that New Brunswick needed better services from political leaders."

Tom Bateman, professor of political science at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, said that as a former Irving leader, Higgs would be subject to scrutiny when it would weigh in at just about any government decision.

"There is an imbalance that would create this perception with any government," he said. "Mr. Higgs would be well aware of this perception and would like to disabuse people of the idea that it was a figure for Irving companies."

"The interactions between public policy and the Irvings are multiple," Bateman said. "It's a very important and influential business group in a very small province and short of economic development opportunities."

Before the campaign began, the Liberals were interested in Higgs' trading record, saying he was opposed to increases in the minimum wage, increases in income taxes for most New Brunswickers. and a plan to make clbades free for some post-secondary students.

"He wants to help big, rich businesses," Gallant said at the time. "And he demonstrated it in his voting record as Leader of the Opposition."

The Liberals also produced a series of offensive ads including the slogan: "Blaine Higgs gives priority to big business."

However, no one in the province was surprised when the Liberal ministers who unveiled the negative ads made a point of not mentioning the Irving brand.

Chewing the Irvings is bad politics in New Brunswick.

And it's been like that since Higgs grew up in Forest City, NB, near Canada-USA. border. Son of a customs officer, he married his sweetheart Marcia, a high school student, and settled in the Saint John area, where they had four daughters: Lindsey, Laura, Sarah and Rachel.

The couple celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this summer and now have three grandchildren.

First elected to the New Brunswick legislature in 2010, four months after his retirement from Irving, he served as finance minister for four years. He was elected leader of the Conservative Party in October 2016.

On the national scene, Higgs is not supposed to ruffle too many feathers. Unlike Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Higgs is not a populist.

"His message is not that different from previous premiers," said J.P. Lewis, a political scientist at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John. "He's more like a traditional Conservative Progressive. He looks like a minister of the Harper era government.

Mr. Higgs and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, however, should oppose the fight against climate change.

Higgs has announced that it will join its counterparts in Ontario and Saskatchewan to reject Ottawa's bid to get provinces to impose a carbon tax on their citizens.

Last month, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said his province would also drop any carbon tax plan. In addition, Jason Kenney, Alberta's opposition leader, promised to scrap the province's carbon tax if his party wins the spring 2019 election.

"On the basis of (Higgs') rhetoric, it could become a new thorn in Trudeau's foot, especially with respect to natural resources," said Lewis.

Higgs also faces a daunting task in the province's economy, which some economists say is moving toward a "fiscal cliff". With a debt of $ 14 billion, it could be pushed to the extreme in case of sharp rise in credit rating downgrade rates.

The province has the lowest median household income in the country and was the only province to experience a population decline between 2011 and 2016. In addition, the province's tax base is shrinking and the province has experienced several consecutive budget deficits.

Economic growth – estimated by the Conference Board at about 1.3% this year – is expected to remain weak as the province struggles to increase its population.

"We can solve this problem," Higgs said before the election campaign. "We have to be frank with each other and talk about real problems without pretending that everything is fine."

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By Michael MacDonald, Canadian Press