Former NDP leader Dominic Cardy not ruling out move to PC Party

Just days after leaving the NDP, former leader Dominic Cardy says he accepted an offer to meet with PC leader Blaine Higgs and is now mulling over the possibility of joining the Tories.

READ MORE: New Brunswick NDP leader Dominic Cardy resigns

Since announcing his intentions to leave his position as leader, and the party altogether, rumours have swirled that Cardy could be headed to the PC party.

“What I want to do is continue to be useful in political life in the province as much as I can be,” Cardy said Thursday.

“Right now the ideas that I hear Mr. Higgs talking about, those resonate with me pretty strongly.”

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“The main thing I care about is the ideas that government is meant to implement.”

Cardy is quick to refute the notion that Higgs’ ideals haven’t been in line with his own.

He believes his former party stopped believing in the same things he did, and that the new PC frontman is more aligned with his political policies.

READ MORE: Dominic Cardy stands by reasons for stepping down as leader of New Brunswick NDP

“There are areas where we’ve got differences. I come from a left-of-centre tradition and background, I’m a social democrat. Mr Higgs is a Tory,” Cardy admitted. “It’s definitely a different tradition, but there are a lot of things we have in common. We want the best for the province.”

“Many of the things that I’ve spoken about in the past and many of the things I’m concerned about, Dominic shares the same concerns,” Higgs said.

Both say they’ve had a good working relationship with one another dating back to Higgs’ time as finance minister.

When asked about his desire to meet with the former NDP leader, Higgs pointed to the message he says he’s been pushing since starting his run for the PC leadership — that good governing involves all parties.

“The real motives here is putting together the right team to rebuild this province in the right way and in a way that we all benefit,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The real motives here is putting together the right team to rebuild this province in the right way and in a way that we all benefit," he said.

Since announcing his resignation, Cardy says he’s received several job offers both in and out of politics, but hasn’t made any firm decisions on what path he’ll take.