New Brunswick’s swearing-in ceremony for majority PC government set for Sept. 29

According to a province spokesperson, the swearing-in ceremony for New Brunswick’s Conservatives will be held on Sept. 29 in Fredericton.

A new Conservative majority government was voted in on Sept. 14, where Premier Blaine Higgs retained his Quispamsis seat, earning more than 60 per cent of the vote.

All sitting PC cabinet ministers also retained their seats after being contested in the election.

The party improved on their 2018 showing, when they won 22 seats and formed a minority government. The PCs won five more seats this year, for a total of 27, while the Liberals secured 17 seats.

Higgs has yet to name his new cabinet, with less than a week until the swearing-in ceremony.

1:58 New Brunswickers call for Higgs to call municipal elections

Calls have been made in support of re-instating some ministers.

Wolastoqey chiefs called on Higgs to continue having Indigenous Affairs Minister Jake Stewart in his cabinet. The chiefs hope consistency in the government may help address their issues.

Although he was never technically out of power, Higgs has held off several provincial decisions and updates in the past week until the swearing-in, including an update on the privatization of cannabis.

In addition, municipal governments are hoping Higgs will call a date for municipal elections now that the provincial election is over.

They were first scheduled for May 2020, but were delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That means municipal governments have been operating well into the fifth year of what is normally a four-year term.

— With files from Hannah Jackson, Sean Boynton and Silas Brown.