Disappointment among Progressive Conservatives following Monday night’s election loss.
The Tories ended the night with 16 seats compared to 31 seats for the Liberals, which will form a majority government.
“You go into every election hoping that you’re going to come out and win and that’s not what happened here tonight,” Steve Outhouse, campaign manager for the Progressive Conservatives, told our newsroom.
“But obviously New Brunswickers cast their ballots and we respect that.”
The Progressive Conservatives ran on their record during the campaign rather than making a lot of new commitments.
Outhouse said the party made 11 commitments throughout the campaign, which he described as a “very focused” number.
“The HST cut was simply the largest one and our most notable, but there were health care commitments and so on,” he said.
“Ultimately, we were trying to present that this would be a responsible fiscal path for the province that would continue to improve health care and continue to make life more affordable, but then people look at that overall and they pass their judgment.”
While Leader Blaine Higgs did not immediately resign, he told reporters after his concession speech the result will trigger a leadership race and he will make an official announcement on his future in the coming days.
Outhouse said the party will take some time to examine what happened in the days and weeks leading up to Monday’s vote.
“When you’re running with a government that’s been there for six years, there’s a lot of decisions that get made over six years and, little by little, people get upset about this and people get upset about that. That’s just the nature of government,” he said.
“For us to have been in there for six years, to have gone through things like the global pandemic and so on, that puts a lot of water under the bridge. You have to continue to make the case that you’re both trying to set a new path that’s different enough to earn more support but also to build on the foundation that you have.”