Miramichi-area MLA to seek federal Tory nomination

Miramichi-Bay du Vin MLA Jake Stewart says he will be looking to run for the federal Conservatives in the next election.

Stewart was elected four times in the Miramichi area and previously served as Aboriginal affairs minister, but did not receive a cabinet post after the September 2020 election.

“I am excited to put my name forward as a candidate for nomination in Miramichi-Grand Lake,” Stewart said in a release.

“It is time for a change in Ottawa, and I want to make sure our region is heard, as I’ve always done.”

Stewart was in the spotlight over the summer when he came out in support of an inquiry into systemic racism following the police shootings of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi, contrary to the position of Premier Blaine Higgs.

Indigenous leaders praised Stewart for his support and asked that he remain in his role as minister following the election.

Stewart was one of several candidates to seek the Progressive Conservative party leadership in 2016, which ultimately crowned Higgs as party leader.

The CPC Miramichi-Grand Lake nomination convention is set for May 15 at the Miramichi Exhibition Agricultural Centre.

Should Stewart be successful he can remain as MLA until a federal election is called. If he resigned Higgs’ already slim majority would be down to just 25 voting members, just three more votes than the opposition parties.