Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Tuesday the prime minister has no business weighing in on New Brunswick's Policy 713 on LGBTQ students and called on Justin Trudeau to "let parents raise kids."

The policy was designed to protect LGBTQ students in schools. But earlier this year, New Brunswick's Progressive Conservative government made changes that, in part, mean teachers are no longer required to use the chosen names and pronouns of transgender or non-binary students under 16 without parental consent.

At a Tuesday event in Moncton critiquing carbon taxation and the cost of living, Poilievre was asked whether he stands with New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs on the changes to Policy 713. He called it "provincial policy."

"I know that Justin Trudeau has butted into that. The prime minister has no business in decisions that should rest with provinces and parents," he said.

"So my message to Justin Trudeau is, 'Butt out and let provinces run schools and let parents raise kids.'"

Turmoil in Higgs government

The changes to Policy 713 prompted backlash from within Higgs's own cabinet, including numerous resignations by ministers who objected to his leadership style. On Tuesday morning, Higgs shuffled his cabinet to replace two ministers who voted against him on a resolution calling for more consultations on the school gender-identity policy.

Trudeau weighed in on the policy at a Pride event in Toronto about three weeks ago.

"Right now," he said, "trans kids in New Brunswick are being told they don't have the right to be their true selves, that they need to ask permission.

"Trans kids need to feel safe, not targeted by politicians. We need to stand against this."

In a tweet, federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan attacked Poilievre for his comments on Tuesday. He said not all parents are accepting and not all homes are safe, so schools should be both.

Higgs again defended the policy change during an interview with CBC's Power and Politics on Tuesday. He said "parents need to have a voice" and insisted he's taking "a balanced approach."

He said he's seeing "a tremendous outpouring of support" for his position.

"Nationally, people are saying, 'Why wouldn't parents play a role?'" he said.

Premier Blaine Higgs has reasserted his authority over his fractured Progressive Conservative government by dumping two ministers who voted against him on the contentious issue of New Brunswick's school gender-identity policy.

In a cabinet shuffle Tuesday, Higgs dropped Local Government Minister Daniel Allain and Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Jeff Carr, sending them to the backbenches.

He made it clear that their breaking ranks in a key vote on Policy 713 had cost them their jobs, violating the principle of cabinet solidarity.

"To go outside of that and to basically feel that it doesn't matter if you're in cabinet or not — it does matter. And to not address the situation is really putting the government in a very vulnerable position," Higgs told reporters after a 9 a.m. swearing-in.

"We have to respect the parliamentary system that we're in, the sanctity of cabinet, and the fact we'll have very frank and open discussion in cabinet or in caucus, but in cabinet you have to have solidarity." 

Premier Blaine Higgs arrives at Government House for a cabinet shuffle on Tuesday. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

The new additions to cabinet are Carleton-York MLA Richard Ames, Moncton South MLA Greg Turner and St. Croix MLA Kathy Bockus. All are first-timers as ministers. 

Rejoining cabinet are Moncton Southwest MLA Sherry Wilson, who was in cabinet from 2018 to 2020, and Oromocto-Lincoln-Fredericton MLA Mary Wilson, who was shuffled out of cabinet last fall.

Allain and Carr make four ministers no longer in Higgs's cabinet.

WATCH |'Cabinet support is paramount,' Higgs says:

The two other ministers, Dorothy Shephard and Trevor Holder, resigned, both of them citing Higgs's leadership style that they said was at odds with the values and traditions of the PC party.

All four voted with the opposition parties on June 15 to help pass a Liberal motion calling for more consultations on Policy 713, which sets out protections for LGBTQ students in provincial schools.

Higgs claimed that day that the vote was not whipped, but he said Tuesday "I never made it a free vote, either."

WATCH | Catch up on why the N.B. government changed a policy aimed at protecting LGBTQ students: 

In the past, the premier has often tolerated minor acts of dissent in his cabinet and caucus, referring to it as "a diverse group" that has pushed the envelope the same way he did when he was the outspoken finance minister in the Alward government. 

But on Policy 713 Higgs has signalled he was losing patience.

"To take a position against the government in the legislature, voting in the legislature, is very significant," he said Tuesday.

Carr and Allain both said Tuesday they understood from Higgs that it was to be a free vote. 

"Obviously the definition of free vote differs from one individual to another," Allain said.

Both former ministers said they were questioning their futures in politics.

Allain said he was pondering whether "maybe there are other ways" for him to serve, given the party "is in a crisis. … I'm asking the question: is it worth the fight?"

He wouldn't say whether he supports the push for a review of Higgs's leadership. 

Moncton Southwest MLA Sherry Wilson at Government House on Tuesday, where she was appointed to cabinet. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

Carr said he won't run in next year's provincial election if the premier is still leading the party.

He said he was disappointed but understands why he was removed from cabinet and did not regret his vote on Policy 713.

Carr insisted that the opposition motion called for exactly what the PC caucus had been promised by Higgs — a role for the child and youth advocate in determining if the policy changes were legally sound. 

He also wished the new ministers well in Higgs's cabinet.

"If they feel satisfied with that type of leadership and governing, then that's okay. I don't judge them for that." 

Higgs told reporters after the shuffle he'll try to reach out to unhappy grassroots members of the Progressive Conservative party, some of whom are organizing to remove him as leader

"I think we have some building to do, there's no question of that," Higgs said.

"I need to play a key role in that, reaching out to the membership, the executives throughout the province, and be able to sit down and have some very good discussions." 

New ministers proclaim support for premier

"I can guarantee you he doesn't have to ask me" about my loyalty, Mary Wilson told reporters.

"I have no problem with our premier. I think he does a great job."

Ames proclaimed that "it's a new day, a new team, new cabinet, great caucus — we're moving forward."

And Turner, who chaired the PC caucus until Tuesday, rejected the claims by Shephard and Holder that Higgs didn't listen to his MLAs.

WATCH | The CBC's Jacques Poitras explains the process the governing PC party must follow for dissenters to remove Blaine Higgs as leader: 

"In any caucus meetings I was in, absolutely. I was in all the caucus meetings. Absolutely," he said.

"Like any team, there has been a leader and there has been people who support the leader," Turner said. "I have full confidence in his leadership abilities for sure. There's no question about that."

Ames replaces Carr as minister of transportation and infrastructure, while Saint John East MLA Glen Savoie gets a promotion by taking over Allain's local government portfolio.

Allain was the senior francophone minister in government, representing a language community with few MLAs in the PC caucus.

"He'll continue to be a valued member in our caucus and I'm sure he'll continue to represent the community," Higgs said.

Arlene Dunn arrives at Government House for a cabinet shuffle on Tuesday. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

Carr, Allain, Shephard, Holder and two other ministers, Arlene Dunn and Jill Green, signed a statement earlier this month complaining about a lack of transparency and process in the government's review of Policy 713.

Dunn, who missed the June 15 vote but said the next day she'd have voted with the opposition, remains in cabinet and takes over the post-secondary education, labour and training duties that Holder held.

Asked why he kept her in cabinet, Higgs told reporters that "I know if someone had been there, they might have done differently … but the fact is they weren't there and they didn't stand against the government."

Dunn told reporters after the cabinet shuffle that her issue had been with Policy 713.

"I didn't think we should have touched that. I think we should have stayed away from it," she said.

But beyond that, "I do have confidence in the leadership of the premier."

Green also missed the June 15 vote and later said she didn't know how she would have voted. 

She's been promoted to minister of social development and also holds on to the housing file, with her provincial housing strategy expected to be released this week.

Opposition Liberal leader Susan Holt did not mention the internal PC party turmoil in a tweet congratulating the new ministers.

"Our team is ready to work with you to address the issues most important to New Brunswickers," she wrote.

New minister responsibilities:

• Richard Ames — Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, former backbencher.
• Jill Green — Minister of Social Development and responsible for Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation; still responsible for New Brunswick Housing Corporation,but no longer the Minister of Service New Brunswick. 
• Arlene Dunn — Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, remains Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Minister responsible for Immigration; no longer responsible for Economic Development and Small Business and Opportunities N.B.
• Greg Turner — Minister responsible for Opportunities N.B. and Economic Development and Small Business, former backbencher.
• Glen Savoie — Minister of Local Government and still responsible for la Francophonie.
• Mary Wilson — Minister of Service New Brunswick and responsible for Military Affairs; former backbencher shuffled out of cabinet last fall.
• Tammy Scott-Wallace — remains Minister of Tourism, Heritage and Culture, but no longer Minister responsible for Women's Equality.
• Sherry Wilson — Minister responsible for Women's Equality and for Addictions and Mental Health Services; minister from 2018 to 2020 who became a backbencher after the 2020 election.
• Kathy Bockus — Minister responsible for Seniors, former backbencher.

Former PC party president Brian Harquail, who did not attend the meeting, told Information Morning that if Higgs can't unite his caucus and his party, he doesn't deserve to be governing New Brunswick. 

"I was elected twice as president and we have a reputation of eating our young, and blaming somebody else for our own mistakes," he said.

"Well, it's time we took control and started to lead the party in the right direction."

'Things are going to escalate'

Harquail was one of four former presidents who signed a letter last week calling on Higgs to resign to avoid a divisive, drawn-out leadership review fight.

He scoffed at Higgs blaming negative media coverage for his lack of popularity in francophone New Brunswick.

"To attack the newspaper for doing their job is childish and shows a very, very strong lack of leadership," he said.

"Get over it, Blaine, because that's life and that's the way it is. And you wanted the job, so let's get on with it."

Former Progressive Conservative party president Claude Williams previously said there are letters from presidents of 26 PC riding associations asking for a leadership review. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

Williston said far from calming down, he believes that "things are going to escalate" in the party's internal battle. 

He said the premier will eventually have to realize that he can no longer govern and that an election would be a risk now because many PC members in local riding associations won't work for him as leader.

Holder was among the cabinet ministers who defied Higgs last week to vote for an opposition motion calling for more consultations on changes to LGBTQ protections for students in Policy 713.

Higgs won the leadership and the sceptics fell in line, then watched as his unconventional approach became, in their minds, a political liability.

Criticism from caucus

The main accusation by his caucus critics is that he cuts them out of his decision-making process.

His 2020 push for health reforms — including the proposed closure of small hospital emergency departments — cost him his only francophone MLA at the time, Robert Gauvin.

Gauvin's father was the late Jean Gauvin, a longtime member of Richard Hatfield's cabinet who helped keep the embers of PC support flickering in Shippagan during the party's 12-year exile from power.

Higgs's 2020 push for health reforms cost him his only francophone MLA at the time, Robert Gauvin, pictured here in 2020. (Michel Corriveau/Radio-Canada)

Jean Gauvin also stood by Hatfield when party rebels tried to remove him from the leadership in 1985 — so his son's move to the Liberals is another symbol of Higgs's break with party history. 

Another francophone who backed Hatfield during that battle, Jean-Pierre Ouellet from Madawaska-Les Lacs-Edmundston, is now part of the push to dump Higgs, arguing the premier is advancing ideas inimical to the PC Party.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's trying to implement a platform that was the CoR platform when he was campaigning for the CoR party in the 1980s," Ouellete said.

Outsider status could be a threat

So the premier's outsider status — the very thing that propelled him to power — now threatens to undo him.

His best defence is his record: big budget surpluses, a lower provincial debt, low unemployment and unprecedented population growth.

But recent comments by Higgs suggest he doubts any potential new PC leader would live up to what he considers the high standards of success he has achieved.

"That is what's weighing heavy on my mind: are we going to keep the ball rolling or are we going to regress and go back into the political process?"

That's another alarming heresy for party veterans who value continuity, succession planning and long-term political viability.

    In her 2021 letter to Higgs, Shephard said that when he launched his leadership bid, she concluded he "didn't want to be leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick; you just wanted to be 'leader.' (Shane Magee/CBC)

Higgs dismissed the review push in a statement Wednesday that did not acknowledge there are letters from a majority of riding presidents.

Instead he called it "a strategically planned political drama" that has been "a focus from a certain group for a few years now," now heightened by the Policy 713 debate.

In her 2021 letter to Higgs, Shephard said that when he launched his leadership bid, she concluded he "didn't want to be leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick; you just wanted to be 'leader.'"

But the two can't be separated: if the push for a leadership review succeeds, Higgs would be facing the end of his tenure as both PC leader and premier.

That's the choice now facing party members: what to do with this guest who, to many, is wearing out his welcome.

A member of the party's provincial council says 25 presidents of PC riding associations have signed letters calling for a leadership review vote.

That's a majority out of the 49 ridings. It also surpasses a key threshold in the party's constitution to trigger the process.

"That number constitutes over 50 per cent of riding association presidents and I think it clearly shows there's a desire for a change of leadership amongst the membership," said John Williston, a regional vice-president of the party who supports the review.

"This is from every part of the province. … It's important that this reflects a wide scope of New Brunswick — anglophone, francophone, northern, southern. It shows unity among our party throughout the province." 

Jean-Pierre Ouellet, one of the riding association presidents who signed a letter, says Higgs has made too many decisions without consultation. (Radio-Canada) (Radio-Canada)

CBC News has seen and verified 22 of the letters, two more than the number required to advance the issue.

Jean-Pierre Ouellet, president of the Madawaska-Les Lacs-Edmundston riding association and one of the signatories, said Higgs has made too many decisions without consulting the public.

"It's 'my way or the highway,'" he said, pointing to an attempt to replace French immersion, legislation weakening the powers of anglophone district education councils and eliminating elected positions on regional health authority boards.

Surpassing the 20-letter threshold doesn't guarantee a membership vote on Higgs's leadership will be held.

The party constitution requires letters from 20 riding presidents, and 50 party members in total, for the party's provincial council — its governing body — to put the question on its agenda at its next meeting.

No more than five of the 50 members can be from any single riding.

Some of the signed letters, seen by CBC News, calling for a leadership review vote. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

Former party president Claude Williams told Radio-Canada's La Matinale on Wednesday morning that those 50 letters were also in hand.

"We have the numbers," Williams said. "If I were in his place, I'd retire." 

The council must vote by a two-thirds majority to schedule a convention within three months, where delegates would vote on whether to keep or remove Higgs.

Williston, a member of the council, said he believes a two-thirds vote is well within "striking distance."

"With approximately one-third of the caucus voting against the government and not willing to follow the premier at this point, it's quite obvious to me we need a change in leadership in the party."

Reviews are automatic if the party loses an election, but the process is elaborate and time-consuming when it's in power.

The move to dump Higgs is the first organized attempt to remove a sitting New Brunswick premier from their party's leadership since an effort against Premier Richard Hatfield in 1985.

Higgs was elected premier in September 2018 and re-elected two years later. 

Former cabinet minister Dorothy Shephard, who resigned as social development minister last week, said last week that she'd rather see Higgs leave "amicably" than face being ousted.

"I know that the party is mobilizing to consider a leadership review," she said on CBC's Power and Politics. "I'm sure that weighs on his mind."

But Higgs indicated Monday the ball was in the membership's court.

"It won't be a call that I make, right?" he told reporters. "If the party decides to do that, it won't be a decision I make. So if it happens, I guess it happens."

Shephard quit after she and five other PC MLAs, including three other ministers, voted with the opposition for a Liberal motion calling for more consultations on Policy 713.

Dorothy Shephard explains to reporters her decision to quit cabinet on June 15. (Ed Hunter/CBC)

The premier said he was willing to face a party review process to defend his position on his controversial review of the policy, which sets out standards for providing safe and inclusive spaces for LGBTQ students in provincial schools.

PC Party president Erika Hachey said in an email she has not received any letters yet from riding presidents calling for a review.

The provincial council is scheduled to meet this weekend, but the party constitution requires letters to be submitted 21 days in advance, so the review would only appear on the agenda of the next meeting this fall.

Hachey was unsure exactly how many members sit on the provincial council and what number would constitute two-thirds support for calling a convention.

The council includes the 49 riding presidents, several party officials, including the president and nine regional vice-presidents, five MLAs whom she did not identify, and Higgs himself.