New Brunswick Court of Appeal says 2020 snap election call by Higgs was legal
New Brunswick's Court of Appeal has ruled that the August 2020 snap election call that won Premier Blaine Higgs a majority government was legal.
In a decision released Thursday, the court dismissed advocacy group Democracy Watch's argument that the premier's early election call was illegal because of the province's fixed-date election law.
Writing for the three-judge panel, Justice Ernest Drapeau said there is no admissible evidence that the premier's decision to call a general election at that time came from "the pursuit of purely partisan electoral advantage."
Higgs triggered the vote two years ahead of New Brunswick's fixed election date because he said the province needed stability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The premier called the election after opposition parties refused a proposal to support his minority government until the fixed election date in 2022 or until the end of the pandemic.
In October 2021, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Thomas Christie rejected Democracy Watch's bid to have snap elections declared illegal, but for different reasons than noted in the Appeal Court decision.
The Appeal Court disagreed with Christie's determination that the case should be dismissed on the grounds that the timing of an election is not a matter to be considered by the courts. Christie wrote at the time that in his view, "the matter borders on being considered frivolous."
Drapeau wrote in the decision that "most" of Democracy Watch's grounds of appeal are "well founded." However, the Court of Appeal determined that the argument should still be dismissed due to a lack of admissible evidence that Higgs called the election for "purely partisan" electoral advantage.
Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, said in a statement that the ruling confirms premiers cannot disregard fixed-date election laws for purely partisan reasons.
"Democracy Watch believes there was enough evidence for the Court of Appeal to rule that Premier Higgs violated New Brunswick's fixed election date law by calling the 2020 snap election at a time that favoured his party's election chances, but the court concluded there was not enough evidence to prove that he did, or didn't, call the election to favour the PC Party," Conacher said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2022.
By Lyndsay Armstrong in Halifax
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway.
BREAKING Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife’s edge.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
Have you been removed from your family doctor’s patient list for visiting an Ontario walk-in clinic?
Some Ontarians are expressing frustration after they said that they were removed from their family doctor’s patient list for visiting a walk-in clinic in a process being called “de-rostering.”
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.