Glen Savoie is interim PC leader following resignation of Blaine Higgs
Caucus chooses longtime MLA from Saint John East to be face of party until members elect a new leader
Longtime Saint John East Progressive Conservative MLA Glen Savoie is the new interim leader of the PC Party.
Savoie, who squeaked back into the New Brunswick Legislature last week with a 34-vote win in his riding, was chosen unanimously by the PC provincial council, the party's governing body.
The announcement by party president Erika Hachey confirms that Blaine Higgs has resigned as party leader in the wake of last week's defeat — something Higgs hinted on election night was coming but never officially announced.
Higgs was defeated in his Quispamsis riding on election night.
In a statement, Savoie and Hachey thanked Higgs for his six years as premier and eight years as leader of the party.
"Premier Higgs led our province through immense challenges, including the pandemic. Under his watch, our debt has been reduced $2 billion," the statement said.
"We hope Blaine and Marcia will now have time for those precious joys of family and freedom they have denied themselves the last several years, as they worked for the betterment of our people and our province."
Savoie's selection means he'll also be leader of the Official Opposition in the legislature, taking the point position among the party's 16 MLAs in questioning the new government of Liberal premier-designate Susan Holt.
"You have to respect the decision, the choice of voters, and certainly as a party we're doing that," Savoie said in an interview.
"And our purpose here going forward is simply to be an effective and respectful and constructive opposition in government, because that's what people expect us to be."
Savoie said the party will have to reflect on why voters turned so decisively to the Liberals, who earned 48 per cent of the popular vote and reduced the PCs to 16 seats — their worst result since 1995.
"The time right now is to focus on the legislative requirements that are facing us, because we will be going in the house in the next couple of weeks," Savoie said.
Then the party will have to reflect and try "to understand the voters' choice, and why, and then rebuild from there to make people see us as the real alternative to the Liberals in the next election."
Swearing-in set for Saturday
Holt, her cabinet and the rest of the 49 elected MLAs will be sworn in Saturday. Holt said last week the legislature will sit in November to start implementing her campaign commitments.
Savoie was first elected in 2010 but was defeated in 2014 by just nine voters.
His absence from politics was brief, however. The Liberal who defeated him, Gary Keating, resigned three weeks after the election and Savoie won the subsequent byelection.
Savoie was one of the few bilingual ministers in the Higgs government, where he held several cabinet positions, including minister of local government, minister of environment and climate change, and minister for La Francophonie.
He was also government house leader, co-ordinating the PC legislative agenda.
One of his first tasks as interim leader will be to address party members at an annual general meeting on Nov. 9.
The party hasn't set a date or established the rules for electing a new leader of the party.
Savoie would not rule out running for the position, even though traditionally those chosen as interim leaders of parties commit to not seeking the job full-time.
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