PCs choose Christian conservative as first candidate for 2024 election

New Brunswick's Progressive Conservative Party has its first candidate for next year's provincial election a social conservative whose ascent has provoked divisions in the party but who has earned the praise of Premier Blaine Higgs.

Faytene Grasseschi was acclaimed as the candidate in Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins in front of a standing-room-only crowd in a community hall in Nauwigewauk.

"I want to thank each and every one of you for recognizing the conviction, the determination and the pure ability of this young lady right here," Higgs told the crowd to loud applause.

Grasseschi told the crowd she put her name forward in response to a party revolt against Higgs for his revisions to Policy 713 in June.

"Premier Higgs needs a team that actually is going to be his team, right? And have his back."

The outcome is a watershed moment for Grasseschi, a longtime Christian conservative activist and broadcaster who has lived in New Brunswick since 2020.

She has been a well-known, influential figure in social conservative circles for almost two decades, with tremendous clout among elected officials who make frequent appearances on her Faytene TV current affairs show.

But her victory Tuesday marks the first time she has secured a spot on an election ballot herself in part by signing up new members of the party.

WATCH | Social conservative hopes to unify local Tories:

Faytene Grasseschi acclaimed as provincial election candidate

10 months ago

Duration 1:33

PC Party members in Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins have chosen their provincial election candidate after a contentious nomination process.

Riding resident Linda O'Coin said she's been a viewer of Grasseschi's TV program for a couple of years.

"I've always looked up to Faytene and what she stands for, her Christian beliefs, and I'm behind her a hundred per cent," O'Coin said

Another resident, Keith Weeks, said he has never voted in a provincial election but was motivated by "just some of the things she was talking about for the community and this and that. Kinda nice. It's nice to see young blood too."

Higgs said he was happy to see people signing up for the first time because of Grasseschi.

"Isn't it great to see new people joining the party for the right reasons, and being part of I'll call it a movement, I'll call it a revolution, I'll call it whatever but a part of an opportunity to change the face of politics, change the face of doing things that make sense?"

Current Hampton MLA Gary Crossman didn't attend Tuesday's meeting.

He said earlier this month he wasn't sure he could support Grasseschi, who he accused of starting to organize for the nomination before he announced his retirement.

In June, Grasseschi began recruiting followers to support Higgs on his changes to Policy 713, which now requires parental consent before teachers can use a chosen pronoun requested by a child under 16.

Her decision to run triggered a divisive battle in Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins, with the local riding association scheduling Tuesday's convention and then trying to reverse course and postpone it.

When the provincial PC head office refused to delay the meeting, Hampton Deputy Mayor Jeremy Salgado whom Crossman wanted as the next PC candidate dropped out of the race.

He cited what he called "the misalignment of my beliefs and values with the current structure of our party" and alleged Grasseschi was favoured by provincial party officials, giving her "a considerable advantage" over him.

Grasseschi disputed that, saying Salgago dropped out because the "overwhelming majority" of party members she has met "profoundly appreciate having an authentic conservative option."

In a Dec. 8 letter to party members, the local riding association said it "will not recognize any outcomes" from the nomination convention.

Grasseschi told reporters Tuesday night that she will work "with anyone who has the same goal of ensuring that the quality of life for all of our residents in this riding is improved. So I'm hopeful that in time we'll all be able to come together and put the past behind us and say how can we solve some real problems for the members of our riding?"

When a reporter asked her if she stood by passages in a book she wrote about the role of religion in politics two decades ago, Grasseschi said she wasn't sure she even remembered the contents.

"I can't with integrity answer that question," she said.

She said followup questions about her faith were "propagating radical, extreme, woke, left-wing conspiracy theories."