Higgs's PC campaign spending leaned on populists, westerners

The 2024 New Brunswick Progressive Conservative predetermination run leaned heavy — and spent heavy — connected run consultants with socially blimpish and populist connections, peculiarly successful Western Canada, recently nationalist documents reveal.

Financial returns for the PC Party amusement six-figure spending connected services provided by Steve Outhouse, the party's run manager, and his institution Intercede Communications.

Another Prairie-based company, Mash Strategy, whose CEO has raised the spectre of occidental separatism, besides worked connected the campaign.

Both companies besides did taxpayer-funded enactment for the New Brunswick authorities erstwhile PC Premier Blaine Higgs was successful power.

"I privation to beryllium definite our position is not constricted to 1 region, 1 province," Higgs said of the authorities contracts successful April 2024.

WATCH | PC predetermination spending reflected Higgs's rightward tilt: 

For pre-election and run services, Outhouse personally billed the enactment $154,843 successful 2024, portion Intercede billed $413,052.

Outhouse's authorities wage arsenic main caput to the premier was $124,656 from April to September 2024.

Mash was paid $31,842 by the PC Party for run services. It had a authorities communications declaration worthy $72,000 past year.

Mash's CEO Derek Robinson was the main of integer strategy for erstwhile Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall from 2011 to 2018 and aboriginal joined the Buffalo Project, an enactment that supports a much bullish attack to federalism.

It advocated Alberta and Saskatchewan taking power of immoderate argumentation areas present nether national jurisdiction, including pensions and migration — which Robinson told a podcast successful 2020 was designed to discourage occidental separatist sentiment.

"If we don't get a just woody wrong Confederation wrong a decent play of clip here, I deliberation the flames of separation are going to beryllium burning overmuch hotter successful the precise adjacent future," Robinson said. 

Outhouse is primitively from Nova Scotia. He ran Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's winning predetermination run successful 2023 and 2 national Conservative enactment campaigns by societal blimpish Leslyn Lewis.

Higgs insisted past twelvemonth that the seasoned run advisor could clasp a taxpayer-funded authorities occupation successful his bureau portion preparing for the PC government's re-election run extracurricular enactment hours.

"The separation betwixt the nighttime duties and the time duties would beryllium precise clear," Higgs said successful April 2024.

Mash Strategy started advising his bureau successful April 2023, the aforesaid period the Higgs authorities began reviewing Policy 713, a sex individuality argumentation mounting minimum standards for ensuring harmless and inclusive schools for LGBTQ  students.

Higgs's determination to weaken those protections led to accusations helium was shifting to the right, and aboriginal that twelvemonth helium embraced Faytene Grasseschi, the Alberta-born Christian blimpish activistic and broadcaster, arsenic a PC candidate.

"I'll telephone it a movement, I'll telephone it a revolution," helium said of her candidacy successful December 2023.

Outhouse told CBC News connected predetermination nighttime past October that Higgs's changes to Policy 713 were "actually precise fashionable wide with the electorate but that wasn't the deciding origin for astir radical successful the election."

Outhouse did not respond to an interrogation petition from CBC News astir the PC Party financing return. Nor did enactment president Erika Hachey.

All registered provincial governmental parties indispensable record yearly fiscal returns with Elections New Brunswick nether the Political Process Financing Act, which regulates fundraising and predetermination spending.

The PC Party's 142-page instrumentality for 2024 shows respective paid predetermination workers from Western Canada, including:

• Lianne Bell, the main of unit to the Speaker of Alberta's legislature and a erstwhile staffer to Premier Danielle Smith erstwhile she was person of the province's Wildrose Party.

• Tasha Schindel, who worked connected Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's 2019 predetermination campaign.

• Daniel Kostek, an Alberta pupil who was an beforehand co-ordinator for Higgs's run circuit and who is progressive with a U.S.-based libertarian radical called Students for Liberty.

The papers besides shows the enactment paid immoderate right-leaning media outlets to rise money  for Higgs. 

Rebel News received $11,730 for predetermination advertizing astatine the aforesaid clip it was providing affirmative sum of Higgs.

Last autumn the New Brunswick Media Co-op reported that Rebel News had sent retired a fundraising entreaty for Higgs by email, linking to a website seeking donations for the PCs.

"Blaine Higgs stands up for families," the tract said. "We request to basal up for Higgs!"

The enactment besides paid $2,459 to The Counter Signal, a tract launched by Rebel News alumnus Kean Bexte that publishes pro-Conservative content.

It paid $5,332 to Maple Leaf Strategies, a communications steadfast listed arsenic a spouse of the Conservative networking league Canada Strong and Free, founded by erstwhile Reform Party person Preston Manning.

Higgs spoke astatine 1 of the conferences successful April 2024. Cards were near connected the seats urging attendees to donate wealth to his campaign.

Not each the Conservatives who pitched successful with the Higgs run were western-based.

An Ontario numbered institution owned by Chad Bowie, a Nova Scotian who works successful Ottawa, was paid $89,547 for fundraising services.

Montreal-based Conway Direction Public Relations, headed by longtime Ottawa Conservative staffer Matthew Conway, was paid $20,454.

Conway besides worked for Ontario furniture curate Caroline Mulroney, the girl of erstwhile premier curate Brian Mulroney.

A Toronto-based company, Knocks Engagement Ltd., was paid $46,000 for supplying professionally trained employees to sound connected doors to place PC supporters — a task usually undertaken by unpaid enactment volunteers.