Election talk picks up with 3 spending announcements by normally frugal PCs

Election speculation continues to build as the Blaine Higgs government made high-profile funding announcements on Friday.

In Saint John, Trevor Holder, the post-secondary education, training and labour minister, rolled out $10 million in support for the creation and operation of a new regional economic development agency encompassing the city and surrounding municipalities. 

In Shediac, Andrea Anderson-Mason, the minister responsible for the Regional Development Corporation, announced $10 million to be paired with federal and municipal contributions toward upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant operated by the Greater Shediac Sewerage Commission.

A further $4 million was earmarked Friday afternoon toward a new ice rink and recreation centre in Caraquet. 

Other spending announcements in recent weeks from the normally frugal Progressive Conservative government include a 20 per cent in-province travel incentive and an apprenticeship program for women in the trades.

It's an unusual volume of announcements from a government not normally prone to such self-promotional events.

Speaking to reporters after Friday's Saint John announcement, Holder brushed aside suggestions his announcement could be tied to an impending election.

"We have been working hard on how to re energize the economy coming out of COVID," said Holder. "That's what today is about." 

In the meantime, more than a dozen PC riding nomination meetings are scheduled for coming days, including those of Premier Higgs and Health Minister Ted Fleming on Saturday.

Holder's own nomination is scheduled for next Thursday while Anderson-Mason's is the following week.

Even so, Liberal MLA, Gerry Lowe, who was present for Holder's announcement at Saint John's Marco Polo Cruise Terminal, said he's not convinced an election is coming.

He said it could be dangerous for the party's fortunes to campaign during what could be a difficult reopening of the province's schools.

"I think the premier's got a helluva lot of pressure on him not to have an election," said Lowe. "And he's probably got a helluva lot of pressure on him to have an election. So it will be decided probably by one gentleman and his name is: the premier."

Announcements don't mean election, says prof

UNB political scientist J.P. Lewis is likewise not sure the nominations and funding announcements guarantee an election is in the offing.

He said Higgs may simply be sending up trial balloons to gauge reaction from the public.

It is difficult to predict how a public "hyper attentive" to government actions will behave six weeks down the road, he said

And it may be safer, Lewis said, for the Conservatives to fight three byelections, as required this fall, and wait until next spring to run a general election on the merits of a new budget.

"I would imagine that more than any other time in recent history people are following what the government is doing."