​With Trump threatening tariffs and tumult in Ottawa, New Brunswickers can be proud of Premier Susan Holt

Midst the unprecedented swirl of major International and national events, New Brunswick new Premier, Susan Holt has matters well in hand, moving her province well beyond the dreary days of former Premier Blaine Higgs.

On the national stage, Premier Holt has taken a solid “Team Canada” approach and fit in well with New Brunswick’s other main political figure, federal Finance and Intergovernmental minister, Dominic LeBlanc.

Premier Susan Holt has already delivered the central message to New Brunswickers about her government, turning politics here from “me” to “we” – throwing the “I” approach to governing of former Premier Blaine Higgs into the ash can in favour of a commendable “team approach.”

The team ethic is already very evident in her reliance on her cabinet colleagues and her caucus members. It was clear right from election night when she rhymed off virtually every member of her team in the first blush of victory.

The Holt Liberal government has moved quickly on issues that had confounded the Higgs government and produced unnecessary division in the province.

Premier Holt has been particularly adept at sending symbolic messages to groups that have been outsiders during the previous government. One such message was to welcome three leaders from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) to hear her government’s inaugural throne speech.

John Chilibeck, who reports for the Telegraph Journal, notes that these union leaders had actually been banned outright from the legislative assembly precinct, a measure which is hard to believe given that this is the people’s assembly. A senior official of the union described the throne speech moment as “magical.”

The Premier expressed her willingness “to get to the table” with Labour. She acknowledges she is inexperienced in that area but brings an open mind to it. Displaying a lot of savvy, the newish Premier says: “We’re never going to be best, best friends, because that is the nature of negotiation.

Another area where Holt has taken meaningful and significant action is in her government’s relations with First Nations. She has shown that her priority is to negotiate, not litigate.

CBC Provincial Affairs reporter Jacques Poitras notes that the thorniest cases to resolve are Indigenous title claims by the Wolastoqey and Mi'kmaq nations. Two of the court filings resulted from the Higgs government's cancellation of tax-sharing agreements with First Nations.

Chief Allan Polchies of Sitansisk First Nation said new tax deals would not mean the withdrawal of the Wolastoqey title claim, but they would be a step toward more comprehensive agreements on land that could involve resource revenues. "I think the key thing here is to have the conversation, be at the table, and work with the government that is going to work with Indigenous people," he said.

Furthermore, Hugh Akagi, the long-serving chief of the Peskotomuhkati (Passamaquoddy) Nation said he was impressed that the new minister of Indigenous Affairs, Keith Chiasson answered the Chief’s call at once. “He said we should meet. I suggested the next day, and the answer was yes…. This means that it’s serious and they’re looking for dialogue.”

The new Education Minister, Claire Johnson unveiled a new version of Policy 713, restoring the right of all students to choose their own names and pronouns to reflect informally their sexual orientation or gender identity at school. Parental consent is "encouraged," but no longer needed, when a student of any age wants their chosen names and pronouns used informally at school, according to the revised policy which is in effect as of Jan. 1. However, parental consent is still needed for formal use of names and pronouns, such as in official school records, for students under the age of sixteen. The government also reserved the right to ”tweak” the policy further as needed.
 
New Brunswick has long made it illegal to access abortion services in private clinics, and confined abortion services to just two hospitals. Technology has advanced to the point where abortions can be done through oral medication. The new government reasons that if an abortion is medically necessary, whether physically or mentally, hospital care would not be needed in many or most cases.
 
Health Minister, Dr. John Dornan, two years after being unjustly fired as CEO of Horizon Health by former Premier Higgs, takes on the government’s significant agenda in health care. These measures are of a longer-term nature than most of Holt’s initiatives.
 
During the campaign Holy promised to give nurses a $10,000 lump-sum payment in the first year and $5,000 in the second.  She also said that the retention rate for nurses will increase to 80 per cent, from 74 per cent, because of the bonuses. She later apologized for not making it clear that the bonuses do not apply to part-time nurses.

The most significant plank in her party’s election platform was the establishment of thirty collaborative health care clinics, four of them in 2025, including one in St. Stephen. Another Charlotte County clinic, is promised for Blacks Harbour in 2026.

The availability of health professionals is the major challenge for these clinics, with 90,000 New Brunswickers on the waiting list for a family doctor. St. Stephen, as one example, is particularly in need of family doctors. A wide range of professionals from nurses to social workers to mental health counsellors must also be hired or recruited from other parts of the health system for these clinics.

Holt is investigating whether it is feasible to allow community-based family physicians to opt out of hospital rounds. She says she has asked for data to understand the impact of such a change and the additional resources that would be needed to support it.

The long-term nature of some of these plans bring up the question of the longevity of the new Premier on the province’s political scene. Premier Holt has already said that she does not envision a time in office of 10 years as achieved by former Premier Frank McKenna. Holt said late last year that her dedication to her young family would not allow her to stay for more than two terms.

Even with that period, the view of the Against the Flow blog believes that Premier Holt needs to pace herself. Even in comparison to McKenna’s time in government, politics has changed radically with the ever-increasing impact of social media and the lowering of the standard of public discourse.

Every citizen now has a personal megaphone to express his or her opinion and call out those in public life. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is an example of how politics has changed, and not necessarily for the better. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has shown how policy can be reduced to four over simplistic slogans, starting with “Axe the Tax.”

Premier Holt is fresh and energetic, but she should continue to work through her ministers and caucus so she can enjoy her time in the “big chair.” Many      of her election promises are lofty, and she needs to guard against raising expectations too high.

Still, she has made an excellent beginning. Bravo!