Read the complete write-up of Blaine Higgs net worth, age, wife, children, height, salary, family, parents, Premier career as well as other information you need to know.
Introduction
Blaine Higgs is a Canadian politician who is the 34th and current premier of New Brunswick since 2018 and leader of the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party) since 2016.
Higgs ran for the leadership of the anti-bilingual New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party in 1989. Higgs was first elected to the legislature in the 2010 provincial election and served as minister of finance from 2010 to 2014 in the government of David Alward. In the 2018 provincial election, Higgs narrowly carried the PCs to a minority government, despite losing the popular vote. Higgs and the PCs were re-elected in the 2020 provincial election, though this time with a majority government.
Early Life
| Name | Blaine Higgs |
| Net Worth | $7 million |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Height | 1.78m |
| Age | 67 years |
| Wife | Marcia Higgs |
Blaine Myron Higgs was born on March 1, 1954 (age 67 years) in Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada. He graduated from the University of New Brunswick as an engineer. He worked for 33 years for Irving Oil, rising to the position of senior executive overseeing oil transportation across eastern Canada and New England. Higgs retired from Irving Oil in 2010.
Career
Blaine Higgs has belonged to three political parties and ran for the leadership of two. Before joining the Confederation of Regions party, Higgs was a Liberal party member but left the Liberals because he opposed Canadian bilingualism and the New Brunswick Official Languages Act.
In his mid-thirties, Higgs ran for the leadership of the New Brunswick Confederation of Regions (COR) party, stating that he was in favor of “common sense”. In his bid for the COR leadership, Higgs “complained about francophones ‘who can speak the common language, but refuse to'”. He also supported an elected Senate, opposed the Meech Lake Accord, favored fixed terms for government, and stated “We do not have an obligation to cater to those people who can speak the common language, English, and refuse to do so”. While running for the COR leadership, Higgs stated, “I have not caught up with this modern way of thinking”.
Check Out: Scott Moe net worth
Blaine Higgs was sworn in as Minister of Finance on October 12, 2010, Minister responsible for the New Brunswick Liquor Corporation, Minister responsible for the New Brunswick Investment Management Corporation, Minister responsible for the New Brunswick Lotteries and Gaming Corporation, and Chair of the Board of Management. He also served as Minister of Human Resources until October 9, 2012. While Higgs was Minister of Finance, the decision was made to stop making regular payments to pension plans, later causing pension issues for Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) members leading to the strike in 2021.
Higgs represents the electoral district of Quispamsis as a member, and, since October 22, 2016, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick. On that date, the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick leadership election was held and on the third ballot, he defeated former Saint John Mayor Mel Norton, 1,563 to 1,169.
He and his party won the largest share of seats in the 2018 provincial election in the legislature, 22, compared to 21 for the governing Liberal Party of New Brunswick, which opted to attempt to remain in power as a minority government by presenting a Throne Speech in hopes of retaining the confidence of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. On November 2, 2018, the Progressive Conservatives and the People’s Alliance combined to defeat Premier Brian Gallant’s Liberal minority government via a nonconfidence vote in the legislature.
Premier of New Brunswick
Blaine Higgs was appointed Premier on November 9, 2018. At 64 years of age at the time of swearing-in, Higgs is the oldest person to be sworn in as Premier in New Brunswick history, and in April 2019 became the oldest ever Premier in New Brunswick history, surpassing Leonard Percy de Wolfe Tilley in both records.
Higgs began repealing several financial assistance programs for New Brunswick students attending post-secondary institutions in 2019. His party deemed programs such as the Timely Completion Benefit, established in May 2009, to be “very costly”. The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick believed redistributing the funds allocated to this program through a tuition tax credit was a “better” way to reach more students. This move, along with the removal of the Free Tuition Program, was highly criticized by students across the province, with some emphasizing that there is no longer any incentive to remain in New Brunswick to work or study.
He opted out of a federal program in 2020 to fund public transit in New Brunswick, as he “misunderstood details” of the federal program designed to rescue municipal transit services. Higgs claimed multiple times that the funding was for capital projects, but according to a government backgrounder on the agreement, that specific program was meant to address the operating deficits and revenue shortfalls caused by the pandemic.
Blaine Higgs also claimed that the program was only for larger provinces, stating, “that was a specific request for infrastructure funding for subways and for systems in Toronto and Montreal and BC — for the big cities.” Documents later showed that Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia have received a combined $57.1 million from Ottawa’s “Safe Restart” public transit aid program. New Brunswick asked for and received $0.
Higgs raised the idea of cutting equalization payments made to ‘have-not provinces’, including New Brunswick during a First Ministers’ meeting in Montreal in 2018. The New Brunswick government budgeted for $1.8 billion worth of equalization transfers in 2018-19. Without 30 percent of the budget coming through federal transfer payments, Higgs suggested attitudes might change about resource development.
His government had to deal with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) strike in October and November 2021. About 20,000 workers in the education, health, transportation, and infrastructure sectors went on strike for 16 days. On November 14, Higgs’s government reached a deal with CUPE. The agreement included raising wages for the workers.
In 2020, the Higgs government was urged to call an inquiry into systemic racism following police officers shooting and killing Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi in separate incidents that summer. First Nations Chiefs later walked out on a meeting with Higgs following his refusal to commit to an independent inquiry, stating that they were ‘losing faith in him. The following year, Higgs’s government pulled out of tax-sharing agreements with 13 Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqey First Nations without consultation.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn announced in 2021 that the Higgs Government would hire an independent commissioner to examine systemic racism rather than call a public inquiry. Indigenous leaders later denounced the provincial government’s plan to address systemic racism, calling it a form of systemic racism itself.
Following a major land title claim filed by Wolastoqey Chiefs, Blaine Higgs alleged that title claim “impacts every single landowner” in the province by claiming title to “private lands of any kind” with “no limits”. Higgs’s comments that the lawsuit might lead to Indigenous people winning control of 60 percent of the province’s land, including private homes and businesses was flatly contradicted by the 657-page statement of claims filed by the chiefs in court, which lasted only five forestry companies, NB Power, and the federal and provincial governments.
Check Out: Roy Horgan net worth
Shortly afterward, New Brunswick’s Attorney General Ted Flemming sent a memo to government employees which asked them to cease making indigenous territorial acknowledgments that made reference to ‘unceded’ or ‘unsurrendered’ land. “As a result of this litigation, legal counsel for GNB and the Office of the Attorney General has advised that GNB employees may not make or issue territorial or title acknowledgments.
This includes the use of territorial acknowledgments at meetings and events, in documents, and in email signatures.” This policy faced growing backlash, including within the Premier’s own cabinet. A leaked series of emails revealed Education Minister Dominic Cardy and Transportation Minister Jill Green wrote to the premier complaining that the new policy was causing unnecessary conflict and “creates the impression of a government intentionally reinforcing racist behavior.”
Wife
Blaine Higgs is married to Marcia Higgs, they had their wedding in the 1900s. Blaine and his wife Marcia have four daughters, the youngest is Rachel Higgs. The couple’s daughter Sarah Higgs is married. Higgs has a grandson named Sam. However, Blaine Higgs led the provincial government response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Brunswick. On March 19, 2020, the government declared a state of emergency. Higgs tested positive for COVID-19 on December 31, 2021. Higgs argued that stability in government was required for the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recovery. The snap election was called on August 17, 2020. Higgs and the Progressive Conservatives were re-elected to a majority government in the 2020 provincial election held on September 14.
Blaine Higgs net worth
How much is Blaine Higgs worth? Blaine Higgs’s net worth is estimated at around $7 million. His salary for 2022 ranges from $162,574 to $475,483, but with bonuses, benefits, and various other compensation, he made significantly more than his salary in the year 2020. Higgs’s main source of income is from his career as a politician and former senior executive of Irving Oil. His successful career has earned him some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy cars trips. He is of the richest and most influential politicians in Canada.