The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a

centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

political party in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. The party has its origins in the pre-

Canadian confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

Conservative Party that opposed the granting of

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

to the colony. It has historically followed the

Red Tory A Red Tory is an adherent of a Centre-right politics, centre-right or Paternalistic conservatism, paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition. It is most predominant in Canada; however, it is also found in the ...

tradition. From the 2010s, the party underwent a shift to

Blue Toryism A Blue Tory in Canadian politics is a conservative who advocates for free-market and economically liberal (sometimes known as fiscally conservative) policies such as reductions in public spending, tax cuts, opposition to deficit spending, and a m ...

after the election of

Blaine Higgs Blaine Myron Higgs (born March 1, 1954) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 34th premier of New Brunswick from 2018 to 2024 and leader of the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party) from 2016 to 2024. Higgs grad ...

as leader, who was

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

from 2018 to 2024.

History

Initially, Conservative supporters tended to be

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec and Governor General, governor ...

and supporters of the business community. In the 1860s, the Conservative and Liberal parties split over the issue of

and were replaced by the Confederation Party and the

Anti-Confederation Party ''Anti-Confederation'' was the name used in what is now the Maritimes by several parties opposed to Canadian Confederation. The Anti-Confederation parties were accordingly opposed by the Confederation Party, that is, the Conservative and Libera ...

. By 1870, the pro-Confederation party became generally known as the

Liberal-Conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

s or just “Conservatives," and were aligned with the national Conservative Party of Sir John A. Macdonald. The party was aligned with the historic federal Conservative party. When the federal party changed its name to the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; ) was a Centrism, centre to centre-right List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 unti ...

in 1942, the New Brunswick party did the same. The federal Progressive Conservative Party dissolved in 2003, to merge with the

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 2000 to 2003. The Canadian Alliance was the new name of the ...

and a new

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

was created. The provincial party has no formal link with the current federal Conservative Party, but several of its members and elected MLAs, including former premier Premier Lord, publicly endorsed the federal party and in some cases its candidates in the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

federal elections. Following the change of government in 2006 provincial election, Bernard Lord resigned as leader on December 13, 2006, and as the member of

Moncton East Moncton East () is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada. It was first contested in the 2014 general election, having been created in the 2013 redistribution of electoral boundaries. The di ...

. On December 19, Jeannot Volpé, MLA for

Madawaska les Lacs-Edmundston Madawaska Les Lacs-Edmundston is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada. The district was established in 1973 as Madawaska les Lacs when New Brunswick moved from a system of bloc voting to the fir ...

, was selected as interim leader. On October 18, 2008,

David Alward David Nathan Alward (born December 2, 1959) is a Canadian politician, who served as the 32nd premier of New Brunswick, 2010 to 2014. Alward has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick since 1999 and has been the leader of the ...

, MLA for Carleton, was elected leader of the party at the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick Leadership Convention in Fredericton. Alward beat his only opponent, Robert MacLeod, by a margin of 2,269 votes to 1,760. The Progressive Conservatives won a sweeping majority, with 42 of 55 seats in the 2010 provincial election. In doing so, PC party leader David Alward became the 32nd

premier of New Brunswick The premier of New Brunswick ( (masculine) or (feminine)) is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The premier of a Canadian province is much like the prime minister of Canada. They are normally ...

. In 2013, Saint John area MLA Dr. Jim Parrott, a retired heart surgeon and former head of the New Brunswick Heart Centre, was kicked out of the caucus after criticizing his government over health issues. The controversial backbencher had spoken out about bilingualism and duality, and written a newspaper commentary about a lack of consultation with physicians. Before the 2014 election, he was allowed to return Alward's government was defeated after one term in the 2014 provincial election, after which Alward announced his resignation as party leader. On October 18, 2014, Bruce Fitch was selected as interim leader of the party and Leader of the Opposition of New Brunswick.

2016–2023

Quispamsis Quispamsis (, sometimes shortened to Quispam ) is a suburban town located in Kings County, New Brunswick, Canada. Located within Saint John's metropolitan area, it borders the town of Rothesay to form the Kennebecasis Valley and is locat ...

MLA

was elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party on October 22, 2016, defeating former Saint John Mayor Mel Norton, 1,563 to 1,169 on the third ballot. In the 2018 provincial election, Higgs and the PCs won the largest share of seats in the legislature, 22, compared to 21 for the governing

Liberal Party of New Brunswick The New Brunswick Liberal Association (), commonly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party, or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major provincial political parties in New Brunswick, Canada. The party descended from both the Confe ...

, which opted to attempt to remain in power as a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

by presenting a

Throne Speech A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or their representative, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a session is opened. The address sets fo ...

in hopes of retaining the

confidence Confidence is the feeling of belief or trust that a person or thing is reliable. * * * Self-confidence is trust in oneself. Self-confidence involves a positive belief that one can generally accomplish what one wishes to do in the future. Sel ...

of the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick () is the deliberative assembly of the New Brunswick Legislature, in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The assembly's seat is located in Fredericton. It was established in Saint John ''de jure'' ...

. On November 2, 2018, the Progressive Conservatives and the

People's Alliance People's Alliance may refer to: * People's Alliance ( ''Volksunie''), Belgian political party which split in 2001 into the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie and Spirit * People's Alliance (Bulgaria), a Bulgarian party from 1921 to 1923 * People's Alliance ( ...

combined to defeat Premier

Brian Gallant Brian Alexander Gallant (born April 27, 1982) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 33rd premier of New Brunswick from October 7, 2014, until November 9, 2018. Of Acadian and Dutch descent, Gallant practised as a lawyer before winn ...

's Liberal minority government via a non-confidence vote in the legislature. Higgs was appointed premier on November 9, 2018. Higgs and the Progressive Conservatives were re-elected to a majority government in the 2020 provincial election held on September 14, 2020, On March 30, 2022,

Kris Austin Kris Austin (born 1979) is a Canadian politician who serves as an MLA in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. Previously, he served as the leader of the People's Alliance of New Brunswick. On October 13, 2022, he was appointed minister ...

and Michelle Conroy announced their departure from the

People's Alliance of New Brunswick The People's Alliance of New Brunswick (PANB) is a provincial political party in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. It was formed in 2010. The party has been described as being right-wing populist. In the 2018 election, the party won thr ...

to join the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick.

Internal division (2023–2024)

Throughout 2023 and 2024, the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick saw itself at a crossroads, with multiple PCNB cabinet ministers and MLAs breaking ranks with the party, with some politicians citing a misalignment with their own views and that of the

social conservatism Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on Tradition#In political and religious discourse, traditional social structures over Cultural pluralism, social pluralism. Social conservatives ...

the party being described as exhibiting. In April 2023, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, led by minister Bill Hogan and premier Higgs, placed Policy 713, an educational policy setting minimum requirements for public schools and districts in the province related to individuals identifying and perceived as

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

, under review, later releasing a revised version in June 2023. The situation led to widespread criticism and internal division within the PC-led government. Shortly following the revision, long-standing

cabinet ministers A cabinet in governing is a group of people with the constitutional or legal task to rule a country or state, or advise a head of state, usually from the executive branch. Their members are known as ministers and secretaries and they are ...

Dorothy Shephard and

Trevor Holder Trevor Arthur Holder (born May 8, 1973) is a former Canadian politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2024. At the time of his resignation, he was the longest serving member of the legislature. ...

. Two additional cabinet ministers,

Daniel Allain Daniel Allain is a Canadian politician from New Brunswick. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick at the 2020 general election in the riding of Moncton East and sat in the legislature until 2024. He served as Minister of Lo ...

and Jeff Carr, expressed their “extreme disappointment in a lack of process and transparency” in a jointly signed letter following the revision. On June 15, 2023, all four of these ministers voted with the opposition parties which favoured a Liberal motion opposing the policy revision and called for increased consultation on the policy, leading to Higgs later dismissing both Allain and Carr from their respective cabinet positions, citing a breach of cabinet solidarity due to their support for the opposition motion on the policy. Throughout early 2024, multiple PC MLAs and/or cabinet ministers, such as Arlene Dunn, Mike Holland, Carr, Allain, Shephard as well as Holder have all made announcements either resigning or opting out of running for re-election. In April 2024, cabinet minister Gary Crossman, who previously announced that he would be retiring after his term, also announced his resigning from the Legislative Assembly. The party was defeated by the Liberal's in the

2024 New Brunswick general election The 2024 New Brunswick general election was held on October 21, 2024, where 49 members were elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. It was formally called upon the dissolution of the 60th New Brunswick Legislature on September 19, 2 ...

, with Higgs losing his own seat and resigning as leader.

Ideology and electoral base

The Tories have alternated power with the

New Brunswick Liberal Association The New Brunswick Liberal Association (), commonly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party, or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major provincial political parties in New Brunswick, Canada. The party descended from both the Confe ...

since Confederation. The party tends to hold a moderate

stance, being socially and fiscally centrist. For most of New Brunswick's history, the party had greater support among English speakers, while the Liberals were more popular among

Acadians The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...

. However, initiatives by the governments of

Richard Hatfield Richard Bennett Hatfield (April 9, 1931 – April 26, 1991) was a New Brunswick politician and the longest serving premier of New Brunswick from 1970 to 1987.Richard Starr, ''Richard Hatfield, The Seventeen Year Saga,'' 1987, Early life ...

and

Bernard Lord Bernard Lord (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer, business executive and former politician. He served as the 30th premier of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2006. Lord was appointed as board chair of Ontario Power Generation in 2014. Ear ...

to include Acadians in the mainstream of New Brunswick life helped the party make inroads in Acadia. In fact, even though he was born in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, former

Bernard Lord is widely perceived to be an Acadian, due to his

Francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

heritage and the fact that he was raised in

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. Th ...

where he attended French language schools and university.

Electoral performance

Current members of the legislature

Party leaders

Peter Mitchell Peter or Pete Mitchell may refer to: Media *Pete Mitchell (broadcaster) (1958–2020), British broadcaster * Peter Mitchell (newsreader) (born 1960), Australian journalist * Peter Mitchell (photographer) (born 1943), British documentary photographe ...

(1866–1867) * Andrew R. Wetmore (1867–1870) *

George Edwin King George Edwin King (October 8, 1839 – May 7, 1901) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, second and fourth premier of New Brunswick, and puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. King was born in Saint John, New Brunswick and attended Wesl ...

(1870–1871) * George L. Hathaway (1871–1872) *

(1872–1878) *

John James Fraser John James Fraser (August 1, 1829 – November 24, 1896) was a New Brunswick (Canada) lawyer, judge, and politician. John Fraser was born at Beaubears Island, New Brunswick. He married twice, the first time in 1867 to Martha Cumming. She di ...

(1878–1882) * Daniel L. Hanington (1882–1892) * Alfred Augustus Stockton (1892–1899) * John Douglas Hazen (1899–1911) *

James Kidd Flemming James Kidd Flemming (April 27, 1868 – February 10, 1927) was a businessman and politician in New Brunswick, Canada. Flemming was a school teacher and lumberman before entering politics and serving as Provincial Secretary-Treasurer from 190 ...

(1911–1914) *

George Johnson Clarke George Johnson Clarke (October 10, 1857 – February 26, 1917) was a New Brunswick lawyer, journalist and politician. A native of St. Andrews, New Brunswick, George Clarke taught school for a time in Charlotte County before studying law. ...

(1914–1917) *

James Alexander Murray James Alexander Murray (9 November 1864 in Moncton, New Brunswick – 16 February 1960) was a Conservative politician and the 16th premier of New Brunswick. Murray was first elected to the legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative ...

(1917–1920) * John B. M. Baxter (1920–1921) * Charles D. Richards (1921–1925) * John B. M. Baxter (1925–1931) * Charles D. Richards (1931–1933) * Leonard P. D. Tilley (1933–1935) * Frederick C. Squires (1935–1939) * Hugh H. Mackay (1939–1948) * Hugh John Flemming (1948–1960) (House leader 1948–1951) * Cyril Sherwood (1960–1966) * Charles Van Horne (1966–1967) *

(1967–1987) (House leader 1967–1969) * Malcolm MacLeod (1987–1989) (''interim'') * Barbara Baird Filliter (1989–1991) * Dennis Cochrane (1991–1995) *

Bernard Valcourt Bernard Valcourt (born February 18, 1952) is a Canadian politician and lawyer, who served as Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Madawaska—Restigouche, New Brunswick until he was defeated in the 2015 federal election. Early ...

(1995–1997) *

(1997–2007) * Jeannot Volpé (2007–2008) (''interim'') *

(2008–2014) * Bruce Fitch (2014–2016) (''interim'') *

(2016–2024) * Glen Savoie (2024–present) (''interim'')

References

{{Canadian Conservative Parties Provincial political parties in New Brunswick Conservative parties in Canada 1867 establishments in New Brunswick Political parties established in 1867 Organizations based in Fredericton