The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right,

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

political party in the

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

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. The party has its origins in the pre-

Canadian confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) 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 Canada, Dom ...

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 bran ...

'' to the colony. It has historically followed the

Red Tory A Red Tory is an adherent of a centre to centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition, most predominantly in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and Australia. This philosophy tends to fa ...

tradition. The Progressive Conservative Party currently leads the provincial government since 2018 under Premier Blaine Higgs.

History

Initially, Conservative supporters tended to be

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America dur ...

and supporters of the business community. In the 1860s, both the Conservative and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

parties split over the issue of

, and were replaced by the

Confederation Party ''Confederation Party'' was a term for the parties supporting Canadian confederation in the British colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland in the 1860s when politics became polarised between supporters and opponents of Confederati ...

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 Liberal ...

. 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 The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

Sir John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

. 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; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

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 (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed u ...

and a new

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...

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,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

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 (french: Moncton-Est) 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 b ...

. On December 19,

Jeannot Volpé Jeannot Volpé (born June 28, 1950) is a Canadian politician in the Province of New Brunswick. Born in Saint-Jacques, New Brunswick, Volpé graduated from the University of Moncton in 1973 with a Bachelor of Physical Education degree and tau ...

, MLA for Madawaska les Lacs-Edmundston, 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 P ...

, 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 ( French (masculine): ''premier ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'', or feminine: ''première ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. T ...

. In 2013, Saint John area MLA Dr.

Jim Parrott James Charles William Parrott (September 15, 1942 – October 4, 2016) was a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 2010 provincial election, representing the electoral district of Fundy-River ...

, 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 Ralph Bruce Fitch is a Canadian politician, He represents Riverview in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. Early life Born in Moncton, New Brunswick, he is the son of Dr. Ralph Fitch. In 1980, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degr ...

was selected as interim leader of the party and Leader of the Opposition of New Brunswick.

2016 to present

Quispamsis Quispamsis (, sometimes shortened to ) is a Kings County suburb of Saint John, New Brunswick, located to the northeast in the lower Kennebecasis River valley. Its population was 18,768 as of the 2021 census. History The original inhabitan ...

MLA Blaine Higgs was elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party on October 22, 2016, defeating former Saint John Mayor

Mel Norton Mel K. Norton is a Canadian politician, who served as mayor of Saint John, New Brunswick from 2012 to 2016. Early life and career Norton was born in Saint John, New Brunswick and started his early life on Grand Manan. He completed a bachelor ...

, 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 (french: Association libérale du Nouveau-Brunswick), more popularly known as the New Brunswick Liberal ''Party'' or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major provincial political parties in New ...

, 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 (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

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 a representative thereof, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a session is opened, outlining th ...

in hopes of retaining the

confidence Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...

of the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

. On November 2, 2018, the Progressive Conservatives and the People's Alliance combined to defeat Premier Brian Gallant'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 the former leader of the People's Alliance of New Brunswick and current member of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick and an MLA in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. On October 13, 2022 he ...

and

Michelle Conroy Michelle Conroy is a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick and an MLA in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick representing the riding of Miramichi. Conroy was re-elected in the 2020 provincial election, defeating ...

announced their departure from the People's Alliance of New Brunswick to join the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick.

Ideology and electoral base

The Tories have alternated power with the

New Brunswick Liberal Association The New Brunswick Liberal Association (french: Association libérale du Nouveau-Brunswick), more popularly known as the New Brunswick Liberal ''Party'' or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major provincial political parties in New ...

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 (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the des ...

. 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 T ...

and Bernard Lord 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 ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

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

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

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. The ...

where he attended French language schools and university.

Election results

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 photographer ...

(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 George Luther Hathaway (August 4, 1813 – July 5, 1872) was a politician in New Brunswick, Canada. His surname also appears as Hatheway. He was born in Musquash, New Brunswick, the son of Calvin Luther Hatheway and Sarah Harrison. He enter ...

(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 die ...

(1878–1882) * Daniel L. Hanington (1882–1892) * Alfred Augustus Stockton (1892–1899) *

John Douglas Hazen Sir John Douglas Hazen, (June 5, 1860 – December 27, 1937) was a politician in New Brunswick, Canada. Biography Known by his second name, Douglas, he entered politics in 1885 when he was elected as an alderman for Fredericton City Counc ...

(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 1908 ...

(1911–1914) * George Johnson Clarke (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 in 1908 and served as Minister of Agricultur ...

(1917–1920) *

John B. M. Baxter John Babington Macaulay Baxter (February 16, 1868 – December 27, 1946) was a New Brunswick lawyer, jurist and the 19th premier of New Brunswick. Baxter served in the Canadian Army and was the author of ''Historical Records of the New Bruns ...

(1920–1921) * Charles D. Richards (1921–1925) *

(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 Cyril Beverly "Cy" Sherwood (July 1, 1915 – December 10, 1996) was a farmer and political figure in New Brunswick, Canada. He represented King's County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick as a Progressive Conservative member fro ...

(1960–1966) *

Charles Van Horne Joseph Charles Van Horne (January 3, 1921 – August 27, 2003) was a politician in New Brunswick, Canada, and the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick between 1966 and 1967. A lawyer and hotel owner in the Campbel ...

(1966–1967) *

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

Dennis Cochrane Dennis H. Cochrane, CM (born 26 October 1950 in Moncton, New Brunswick) is a Canadian politician and civil servant. He graduated from the New Brunswick Teacher's College in 1970, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Ne ...

(1991–1995) * Bernard Valcourt (1995–1997) * Bernard Lord (1997–2007) *

(2007–2008) (''interim'') *

(2008–2014) *

(2014–2016) (''interim'') * Blaine Higgs (2016–present)

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