People’s Alliance agrees to prop up N.B. Tories
Liberal premier urges skeptical PC MLAs to rebel
FREDERICTON — New Brunswick’s rightleaning People’s Alliance has agreed to prop up a Tory minority government, but the Liberal premier is urging skeptical Progressive Conservative legislators to rebel against “the deal” — and keep his party in power.
People’s Alliance Leader Kris Austin said Friday he had met with Lt.-Gov. Jocelyne Roy Vienneau and told her he had agreed to back Blaine Higgs’ Tories for 18 months after Monday’s deadlocked election results.
However, Premier Brian Gallant held his own news conference shortly after, saying he’ll continue talks to form a minority government with the Green Party, and will recall the legislature by Oct. 23 or sooner for a throne speech.
Gallant challenged members of the Tory caucus who might not be sympathetic to People’s Alliance policies to either cross the floor or publicly reveal their discontent with the new relationship between the two parties.
“We believe that there is not unanimous support within the Conservative caucus to support the deal that Blaine Higgs and Kris Austin have clearly struck,” Gallant said.
Later in the day, Higgs insisted the Tories had not struck a formal deal with the People’s Alliance — no conditions were attached to their agreement.
Monday’s New Brunswick election produced a deadlocked result, with the Tories winning 22 seats to the Liberals’ 21. A total of 25 seats are needed for a majority in the 49-seat house. The Green Party went from one to three seats and People’s Alliance earned three seats.
The People’s Alliance has pledged to eliminate use of French in some government services and do away with the office of the official languages commissioner.