Higgs offers no clues to his future in state of the province speech

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs defended his major moves in health and education but offered no clues in his annual state of the province speech Thursday night as to how long he'll stick around to see them through.

He made only passing references to his most controversial initiatives while arguing his four-year-old government is responsible for the province's record population growth, low unemployment and growing exports.

"We knew we could do better," Higgs told the crowd of around 800 people at the Fredericton Convention Centre.

"I'm proud to say that New Brunswick is back in a big way. We are no longer at the edge of the cliff. We are now standing on the cusp of greatness."

At one point last year Higgs said he would use the state of the province speech to announce whether he'd stay on to seek another mandate in next year's election.

But he later revised that commitment and said he could wait until early 2024 to reveal his plans.

Higgs made no reference to that Thursday night, though he told his caucus of Progressive Conservative MLAs that "you ran with me as team Higgs" and thanked them for sticking with him "as we continue to push forward together.

"Sometimes it's a little trying, but we're building a better New Brunswick."

His only other nod to the speculation about his future was at the end of the speech, when he referred to "a question that you may have expected me to answer tonight," and left the stage to the sound of The Clash's Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Economic data put in the spotlight

Speaking to reporters after the speech, Higgs cheerfully batted away several questions aimed at trying to pin him down about when he might feel confident enough in the province's direction to hand off the job to a successor.

His wife Marcia Higgs was also coy on what she'd like him to do.

"I'm not going to say, but as long as he's keen and excited, I'll be there beside him."

Higgs devoted much of the speech to touting economic data, such as strong growth in weekly earnings, the fastest population growth since Confederation and the first reduction in the province's median age since 1961.

The province's population is now estimated to have surpassed 824,000, Higgs said.

"I could go on about the momentum we're building together in our economy," he said, adding, "You all know I like data by now."

That was a joking reference to his now-infamous "Data, my ass" comment to education officials, which Dominic Cardy revealed when he quit as education minister in October.

The triumphant tone came at a time Higgs is facing low approval in public opinion polls, dissatisfaction with the quality of health care and a strong pushback against his proposal to phase out French immersion this fall.

Controversial health moves paying off, premier says

He described taking "what some might call extreme measures" in health care, a reference to shuffling his health minister, firing Horizon Health's CEO and replacing the two partly-elected health authority boards with appointed trustees last summer.

But he said that bold move had yielded improvements, including reduced waiting times at walk-in clinics, a reduction in the number of people waiting for a family doctor or nurse practitioner from 74,000 to 52,000 and more hip and knee surgeries.

On immersion, the premier was non-committal on a reform that as recently as last October he said was essential to put in place this September.

He described a recent round of raucous public meetings— where people spoke with near unanimity against the changes — as "a conversation" that needed to happen. 

"I don't pretend to have all of the solutions, and we may not all agree on the path forward," he said.

But, he said, it's clear that some students are disadvantaged because their schools don't offer immersion, and students in both immersion and English prime programs are not hitting achievement targets while being streamed into a two-tier education system.

He also suggested the immersion controversy had revealed other issues — "the need for us to equip our students better in math, ensure early literacy by Grade 2, and … better meet the needs of children who require targeted interventions, often by trained professionals.

"We can't do better if we aren't willing to talk about it — to explore solutions," he said. 

"Please keep giving us your input.… Having these conversations is the only way to move forward."

Higgs also talked about how his government is projected to have reduced the province's net debt by $2 billion, freeing up $69 million per year that would be spent on interest payments to fund provincial services. 

Repeating a frequent theme, the premier said he wants to "modernize energy policies" to develop a provincial natural gas sector "in partnership with First Nations." 

Higgs should go, Liberal and Green leaders say

Higgs's relationship with Indigenous people has been fraught because of his cancellation of retail tax-sharing agreements with band governments.

But Thursday he said a partnership on natural gas "would reflect a new kind of economic partnership with First Nations and hopefully the first of many as we strive to build development opportunities together — nation to nation."

Higgs also said his government will announce new initiatives on mental health and addiction treatment in the coming weeks and release a housing strategy in June.

Both Liberal Leader Susan Holt and Green Leader David Coon said the speech contained nothing new to address the province's challenges and both said Higgs should bow out. 

"I think at this point he's out of touch," Holt said, mentioning Cardy's resignation last fall and PC MLA Andrea Anderson-Mason urging the government to slow down on replacing French immersion.

"So I think it would be in the best interest of New Brunswickers if he were to step aside," she said. 

Coon told reporters, "He asked the question at the end, 'should he stay or should he go?' He should go."