New Brunswick’s incoming Liberal premier is ready to hit the ground running.
Susan Holt held an inaugural meeting with her caucus members on Thursday.
She also met with outgoing premier Blaine Higgs as the Liberals prepare to transition to power.
Holt said they will be considering changes to the civil service — but not right away.
“There’s a few things we want to get done before Christmas and so we’re not going to throw the civil service upside down between now and then to get those done. Changes will come through into the next fiscal year,” Holt told reporters on Thursday.
Those priorities include a rent cap, taking the provincial sales tax off electricity bills, and retention payments for nurses in the province.
But before any of that can happen, Holt will need to decide which members of her caucus will be in cabinet.
The Liberal leader said there are a lot of qualified MLAs to choose from, which is a good problem to have.
“We’re looking for balance. We’re looking to have a diversity of experiences and perspectives around the table. We want to put together the strongest team possible that really represents New Brunswickers,” she said.
MLAs and cabinet ministers will be sworn in at the legislature on Saturday, Nov. 2.
