In his 2023 State of the Province Address, Premier Blaine Higgs said New Brunswick is on the “cusp of greatness” and overturning a years-old narrative of mismanagement and decline.
The speech was hosted by the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce and broadcast from the Fredericton Convention Centre. In a high-energy oration that elicited intermittent cheers, Higgs announced that it’s hard to imagine where the province was a few years ago.
“Let’s not forget, we had workers moving out west …an economy propped up by public investment, our government living far beyond its means, an aging population with a shrinking tax base. National headlines said we were in a death spiral, that nothing could save New Brunswick, that we were going over the cliff. Well, guess what? We knew we could be better, we knew we could do better,” said Higgs.
“I’m proud to say New Brunswick is back, and we’re back in a big way, and we’re known across this country as a province on the move.”
The premier claimed his government’s plan for the government to spend within its means on healthcare, the workforce, education, energy, and debt undid “Band-Aid solutions” from previous governments.
He said healthcare remains New Brunswick’s biggest challenge and noted the province is competing with the rest of Canada, and the world, to bring in talent.
“We are putting record amounts of money into healthcare and we will continue investing in results, but…money won’t solve it all. The reality is that we’re going to have to do things differently,” Higgs said.
Higgs said progress on the healthcare file includes the HealthLink and E-Visit NB resources, saying, it’s vital to “get people out of emergency rooms if they’re not truly experiencing an emergency.” He also pointed out the wait list for family doctors or nurse practitioners has dropped from 74,000 to 52,000, with the government subsidizing more seats in UdeM and UNB’s nursing programs.
Higgs cited the hiring of 84 doctors, 893 nurses, and 77 mental health professionals, the expanded scope of treatment for pharmacists, and a 65 per cent drop in wait times for walk-in clinics, as healthcare achievements.
“I want to be clear, there will always be two health authorities. What we have learned over the last few years, and through Covid, is that we must make the best of our scarce resources and coordinate better,” he said.
“We have to make sure that we can have services in both Vitalité and Horizon, and serve our entire population in both official languages. Not competing with each other, but coordinating with each other. ”
On the housing front, Higgs’ government still doesn’t have a coordinated housing strategy; the premier promised one by June.
He touted plans to build public housing, a promise to spend more than $100 million on affordable housing over the next four years, and the appointment of a minister responsible for all housing initiates as progress.
He pointed to signs of growth that include the province’s population rising to 824,188, an increasingly younger population, and an increasing rate of employment.
“Sixty per cent of the people we attracted from other provinces are prime working-age and they’re bringing their families in droves,” said the premier.
“Moncton is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in all of Canada on a per-capital basis, while Fredericton and Saint John are beating the national average – but we’re seeing people moving into every community, and proud to be here.”
After calling for a moment of silence to honour Colin Hume, the NB Power lineman who recently died on the job near Hopewell Rocks, the premier claimed his government’s “pro-growth agenda,” and the work of his MLAs, ministers, and civil servants is the driving force behind the province’s growth.
“There’s no doubt we have challenges but, as the numbers prove, we are making significant progress.”
Higgs said New Brunswick led Canada last year in sales growth, with exports up almost 30 per cent. He said the province is expected to export more than $2.5 billion in food, beverage, and seafood to more than 90 countries.
He cited potato product exports nearly doubling in 2022, changes to government procurement that pay more to N.B. businesses, the province being “on track to reduce net debt by $2 billion,” lower personal income taxes, five consecutive surpluses, and an improved credit rating as proof of an economy picking up momentum.
The premier said private investment is growing, with housing starts at their highest level since 1983 (there are 5,200 houses under construction now). He also pointed to IBM’s 250-person hiring spree in Fredericton, the modernization that includes two New D.P. World cranes installed at the Port of Saint John, and The Lycée International, a French private school announcing plans to open a school in the same city, among the many signs of growth.
“They’re moving from France to Saint John and setting up a private school. We are on the international map, and for investment,” he said.
Higgs also talked about education, specifically his government’s unpopular plans to potentially replace the province’s French immersion program.
“I don’t pretend to have all the solutions and we may not all agree on the path forward, but what we know for sure is this: one-third of our Anglophone schools don’t offer French immersion at all and this seriously disadvantages many of our students.”
Higgs told the audience that the province’s immersion and English-prime programs are falling short of proficiency targets and encouraged more dialogue with the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association.
“Ninety-seven per cent of children with social, emotional, or behavioural challenges are enrolled in the English Prime Program. These children deserve better but we can’t do better if we aren’t willing to talk about it, to explore solutions.
“That is what the consultations were and that is why we moved it forward. Not to say we’re coming up with a solution in September of 2024, but to say we’re going to have time to have meaningful discussions, dialogue and consultations and we’re going to find a solution – not pass it on to the next generation,” he said.
The premier also promised to keep growing daycare spaces, noting that it is an ongoing concern as the population grows.
The premier was bullish on plans to reduce coal and oil dependency and build energy and natural resource independence.
To this end, he referenced the potential in the Green Energy Hub at Port Belledune, ongoing efforts of nuclear startups Moltex and ARC Nuclear Canada to build small modular nuclear reactors, and the export potential of the province’s LNG terminal to supply natural gas to a hungry European market – as well as the government’s openness to potash opportunities.
Higgs said the government has invested in law enforcement and social supports and promised an initiative to address N.B.’s mental health and addictions challenges “in the coming weeks.”
Concluding, the premier said: “I know we can achieve greatness, we can continue to build on the momentum that we’ve seen. We are achieving it now. Two years ago, who’d have thought New Brunswick would have been hailed as a financial leader in Canada?”
“What we are seeing is a Renaissance in New Brunswick that has never existed in any of our lifetimes. We are growing like never before.”
Sam Macdonald is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
