New Brunswick premier set to shuffle cabinet after two ministers resigned this month

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is set to shuffle his cabinet Tuesday after two ministers resigned this month.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is scheduled to shuffle his cabinet Tuesday, which one political science expert says is an opportunity to put some of his party's internal strife behind him.

Two ministers quit cabinet this month, both protesting Higgs's leadership style and changes made to the province's policy on sexual orientation in schools.

Over the weekend, the Progressive Conservative provincial council had a "particularly turbulent" meeting, said John Williston, the party's vice-president for the Moncton and Albert County area.

"The premier was very, very agitated — in an angry state," he said in an interview Monday. "It was quite a piece of drama."

J.P. Lewis, political science professor at the University of New Brunswick Saint John, said the cabinet shuffle could help Higgs re-establish the upper hand. But questions remain.

"We don't know how much (the caucus) will continue to be a problem for Higgs, even if he solves one problem with appointing a new cabinet," Lewis said in an interview.

Dorothy Shephard, who served as social development minister, resigned on the floor of the house June 15 after voting with the opposition to call for more consultation on changes to the provincial policy on sexual orientation in schools, known as Policy 713.