Dorothy Shephard latest N.B. Tory who clashed with premier not to seek re-election

Another New Brunswick Progressive Conservative member who clashed with Premier Blaine Higgs over his policy on gender identity in schools has decided not to run in the upcoming provincial election.

In a letter posted to social media, Dorothy Shephard says she will stay on as Tory member of the legislature for the Saint John Lancaster riding until the election, which has to be scheduled by October.

Shephard thanks the “premiers” she has served under, without naming Higgs, and says she will take her experiences serving in three departments over four terms into whatever the “future holds next.”

She resigned as social development minister in June and voted with the Opposition to force the province’s youth and child advocate to review a policy requiring students under 16 to seek parental approval before teachers can use their preferred names and pronouns.

Daniel Allain and Jeff Carr have recently both said they will not seek re-election, after they were dropped from Higgs’ cabinet in June for publicly criticizing the changes to the gender identity policy in schools.

Shephard is the ninth member of the legislative assembly elected in 2020 to announce they won’t be seeking re-election.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2024.