Green leader says he'd strike deal with Liberals to oust Higgs

The leader of the Green Party says he's prepared to make a deal with the Liberals to keep Blaine Higgs from governing if the New Brunswick premier fails to win a majority of seats in an early provincial election.

David Coon says his goal in a fall campaign will be to elect as many Green MLAs as possible.

"If that puts us in a position to negotiate with the Liberals to ensure that there'd be a government that is not led by Blaine Higgs, absolutely," Coon said.

"I certainly wouldn't negotiate with Blaine Higgs."

Coon's plan represents a shift from his approach in the aftermath of the 2018 provincial election, when no party captured a majority of seats.

The Progressive Conservatives under Higgs won 22 seats while the incumbent Liberals under Brian Gallant won 21. The Greens and the People's Alliance won three each.

That led to weeks of haggling over which of the two main parties would be able to win the confidence of the legislature and form a government. 

At the time, Coon offered to negotiate with both the Liberals and the PCs.

But after Alliance Leader Kris Austin pledged to support Higgs, the PCs had the numbers to govern and didn't need Coon's support.

The Greens ultimately backed the Liberals in a confidence vote, but their combined numbers weren't enough for Gallant to stay in power.

This time, after almost five years of watching Higgs in power, Coon says he won't even entertain the idea of a deal with him — but would be willing to work with Liberal Leader Susan Holt to defeat and replace a Higgs minority government.

"As long as Blaine Higgs remains leader of the Conservative Party of this province, we would not enter into any negotiations with him in a new legislative assembly," Coon said.

"If there is a different [PC] leader, we would talk to both, absolutely. But as long as he's leader, that just leaves us with the Liberals to talk to." 

Holt said in a statement that it's too early to discuss post-election scenarios for a vote that may not even be happening.