Can province's new PC leader bring party together to win next election?

By choosing Blaine Higgs as their new leader, New Brunswick Progressive Conservatives have headed into uncharted political waters.

In a political world where the two mainstream parties pick young lawyers more often than not, Higgs is a retired engineer and is 62 years old – the oldest new party leader in recent memory.

He's an advocate of fiscal prudence in a province where public-sector spending is an integral part of the economy.

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And despite the conventional wisdom that a party leader must be bilingual in a province that is one-third francophone, Higgs does not speak French.

Remarkably, Tories seem to have opted for managerial competence over perceived electability – though Higgs himself disputes the idea that his reputation for fiscal prudence will drive away voters.

Perhaps, he said Saturday night, the membership's willingness to elevate an anti-politician will be rewarded.

"With this victory tonight, we basically have an opportunity to say, `Wow, he was elected on doing politics differently.' What message does that send across the province? How many people are going to say `Well it's about time?'"

He added: "I've always had the belief that if you do the right thing, the rest will follow."

Lack of support from MLAs

Even so, Higgs' fiscal rectitude didn't win him big support among his fellow PC MLAs. The two other elected members running for leader, Brian Macdonald and Jake Stewart, didn't back him when they were dropped after the first ballot Saturday. Instead, they opted for Moncton lawyer Monica Barley.

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Barley is 39 years old and, like Bernard Lord and Brian Gallant when they became leaders, has never held elective office. The move by Macdonald and Stewart looked like it would propel her to victory.

But Barley's support faltered on the second ballot. She was in third place and was automatically eliminated.

Macdonald said after Higgs was declared the winner that the caucus will back him. "We have a unified team now," he said. "A convention is a special thing, but today we go forward with a new chief for the party, a new leader."

The two candidates who did swing support behind Higgs, former MPs Mike Allen and Jean Dubé, have never worked with him.

Commits to learning French

Higgs's lack of fluency in French was a key issue in the leadership vote. When Barley dropped off the ballot after the second round on Saturday, she backed former Saint John mayor Mel Norton, citing his bilingualism.

"First and foremost I think someone needs to be able to speak and understand everyone in the province," Barley told reporters.

Higgs has promised to learn French in time for the next election in September 2018. He repeated that vow Saturday night, adding, "I feel I can learn the French language a whole lot faster than any of my colleagues could replace the experience that I have."

Allen says Higgs will have to improve his French, but he can also build his credibility in francophone New Brunswick by recruiting strong PC candidates in those areas.

But political scientist Roger Ouellette of the University of Moncton says the convention outcome is a gift for the Gallant Liberals. "I think they'll pop champagne," he said.

"It's not only the language barrier. It's also the attitude, the values," he added, pointing to Higgs' criticism of the province's dual school bus system. That arrangement, with separate buses for children in the English and French school systems, is now the subject of a constitutional reference case before the New Brunswick Court of Appeal.

Common sense decisions

Higgs told reporters if the court rules the dual system is constitutionally required, that'll be the end of the debate for him. "That's it. If it's a ruling of the court, that's fine."

But he said parents of children at the francophone school in his riding of Quispamsis "told me directly: `it's not an issue for us.' … If the parents don't think it make sense, why can't we make some decisions that are common sense?"

Macdonald, who campaigned on creating a broad-based coalition in the PC party but placed sixth on the first ballot Saturday, said the party will come together to help Higgs appeal across the language divide.

"There's no doubt that to get success in the next election, we need to reach out to all corners of the province," he said Saturday. "I believe Blaine Higgs is a new leader who will be supported by a party that can help him do that.

"He's demonstrated the interest in learning French, and we're going to help him reach out to different parts of the province."