Education New Brunswick has been experiencing major education shortcomings during the 2020s, with the province experiencing massive shortages in teachers and
school psychologists, along with
school bus drivers in some areas. Schools throughout the province have also reported exceptionally low child literacy rates, with a 2021–22 report concluding that
literacy standards were not met by around 40% of the province's
fourth grade students, the lowest it has been in 18 years.
Kelly Lamrock, the New Brunswick Child and Youth advocate, further reported that child literacy rates had declined by 29% over the past decade. After being released in November 2023, the 2022–23 report for fourth grade student literacy rates showed further decline, with 43.4% scoring "below appropriate achievement" after being assessed for English reading. In late 2023, the
New Brunswick Teachers' Association (NBTA) called for the provincial government to address concerns raised from an internal survey of its members. Among the concerns noted were "understaffed classrooms and overcrowded buildings, with uncertified community members, people without a bachelor of education, sometimes taking the place of actual teachers because of shortages." Many of the 2,916 survey participants reported teaching in overcrowded and poorly
ventilated schools, with half also experiencing
verbal and physical abuse. Those who called for these issues to be addressed included Liberal leader Susan Holt as well as
Kevin Arseneau, a Green MLA for
Kent North. In May 2024, the NBTA projected over 1,200 anglophone teachers that will be eligible for retirement within the next five years, with Peter Lagacy, the NBTA president, adding that this is "an alarming number when we look at how many we have coming into the system."
Staff shortages New Brunswick's public school system has been notably experiencing shortages in
teachers, school psychologists and, in certain areas,
bus drivers. While proposing changes for
Policy 713, Higgs proposed for "extra counsellors, extra support." According to figures from November 2023, however, the number of
school psychologists dropped; out of a total of 28 "full-time equivalent" school psychologist positions filled throughout the province, only six served the province's English school system of approximately 73,000 students. Using a
sample size of 65 bus drivers out of a total of around 1,300, the audit reported that 46% of New Brunswick's school bus drivers had ineligible licensing requirements. Additionally, 20% were hired without checking for
criminal records, and further percentages of bus drivers had no evidence of bus training (37%) and
first aid training (42%). The audit also conducted
vehicle inspections on a number of buses, with 45% having deficiencies.
Francine Landry, the Liberal MLA for
Madawaska Les Lacs-Edmundston, criticized the provincial government led by Higgs for "touting their record on keeping children safe, while failing to fulfil the most basic requirements for doing so." Education Minister
Bill Hogan responded, saying that "clearly there's some work to be done in that area in making sure that they're inspected on time."
The New York Times, and
BBC. Lindsay Jones of
The Globe And Mail called the Policy 713 dispute as having "emerged as perhaps the key issue in the next election."
Healthcare Healthcare in New Brunswick has been described as being in a "state of chaos," with hospitals throughout the province experiencing an overcapacity of patients, excessively long waiting times, and health workers experiencing
burnout. During a February 2023
press conference, Blaine Higgs stated that "if every doctor in our province took two or three more patients a week, we wouldn't have a backlog." In an
Angus Reid survey that recorded Canadians' satisfaction with how their province is dealing with healthcare, New Brunswick recorded the largest drop in satisfaction rate compared to rates surveyed at the beginning of the
COVID-19 pandemic, with a rate of just 11 percent, compared to a previous rate of 42 percent. Following overcrowding at the
Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital emergency room at the start of 2024, Green leader David Coon called for "immediate changes" as well as for the government to increase funding. According to
Rob McKee, the Liberal health critic, 160,000 people in New Brunswick, or roughly 20 percent of the population, do not have a
family doctor or
nurse practitioner as of late May 2024. The numbers were disputed by
Bruce Fitch, the
Minister of Health. During the final session of the 60th legislature held on June 7, 2024, Higgs and Holt clashed during
question period; one of the topics included the funding spent on
travel nurses, amounting to nearly , which was revealed to have been "partly mismanaged" according to a report by the
auditor general. Both the Liberal and Green parties made promises to re-launch research efforts into the province's
mysterious neurological disease upon forming majority government.
Housing Since 2019, housing prices have nearly doubled in New Brunswick. In home prices, the province marked the highest percentage of increases compared to the rest of the Canadian provinces and territories. New Brunswick has also seen major increases in homelessness within its communities and cities, with
Fredericton,
Saint John, and
Moncton collectively experiencing an 80% increase in homelessness between 2021 and 2023. Housing critics have claimed that "landlords have almost all the power" in the province. Both the Liberal and Green parties have attempted to implement
rent regulation in the province, with the
right to housing being highlighted by the Green Party legislative members, whether to consider it a
human right or to push for
rural area housing rights. During a legislative session on November 20, 2020, held shortly after the opening of the
60th legislature, Green Party leader David Coon introduced
Bill 18, which would have made changes to the
Residential Tenancies Act, including a cap on annual rent increases as well as ensuring that "rent can only be raised once a year for a tenant and not in their first year." At the time, New Brunswick was the only province that allowed for landlords to make multiple increases on rent each year. Coon added that "we need to ensure that tenants who cannot afford large increases in their rents are not left out in the cold without housing this winter." In March 2022, the government introduced a temporary 3.8% rent cap, set to expire at the end of the year. Opposition parties soon afterwards called for an extension on this cap, while it was opposed by the government. Coon, saying that the government has not "gone far enough to eliminate loopholes that allow landlords to get around the government's temporary cap on rent increases," also made proposals to the provincial bill to address loopholes in this legislation, but faced rejection from the majority Progressive Conservatives. In December 2023,
St. Stephen mayor Allan MacEachern declared a
state of emergency due to an increase in homelessness after the recent death of a homeless person in the municipality; the declaration also accused the provincial government of failing to offer housing and social services.
Public Safety Minister
Kris Austin terminated the declaration soon afterwards, likening it to
car accidents by saying that "people die all the time in car accidents, and we do not declare state of emergencies for that." Austin also blamed "
leftist agendas that are degrading our society" as well as the federal government for the issue. In June 2024, the provincial government quietly made changes to its renting policies, allowing for landlords to make annual rent increases for up to 4.7% for the next year starting in July 2024; this increase exceeds the current
inflation rate. Coon criticized this change, calling out Higgs as "caving to the lobbying of large corporate property owners."
Out-of-province activities New Brunswick, unlike most provinces, allows
political party funding from non-residents. In January 2024, Liberal and Green leaders Holt and Coon both made a promise to forbid New Brunswick political party donations from out-of-province sources in response to Higgs going to
Alberta and
British Columbia on a fundraising trip for his party. In August 2024, right-leaning lobbyist group
Campaign Life Coalition mailed flyers to 160,000 homes in New Brunswick, making the accusation that schools in the province are "pushing transgenderism". Both Liberal and Green leaders condemned the flyers, with Higgs additionally having been urged to do so as well. ==Campaign==