POLITICS The Gallant effect

He’s youthful, t’s been a year since 32-year-old economic growth is not going to be handsome and as rode into power on a there. You don’t grow an economy with, sharp as a tack. Iwave of support, upending the one- or for, retired people. Plus, it brings its term Progressive Conservative premier own set of challenges, such as health So why, after only . In that brief time, the care and social services. There are one year in office, young Liberal leader has watched some pretty tough decisions. Schools does ’s his personal approval ratings in the will have to close. Some rationalization province plummet from somewhere and restructuring will have to be done. youngest premier north of 40 per cent to somewhere It cannot be sustained. We can’t look to now earn public south of 25. In fact, you’d be hard- Ottawa. It’s like we are waiting for Bill approval ratings pressed to find an interest group he Gates to come by and move Microsoft that would have hasn’t managed to aggravate over the from Seattle to . It’s past 12 months. not going to happen. We have to deal made Richard Civil servants are unhappy with with the hand that’s given to us, and Nixon weep into some of his cost-cutting measures. the hand that’s given to us is pretty his morning bowl Teachers and health-care providers meagre.” are worried about his commitment to It is and Gallant knows this. Still, of Wheaties? kids and an aging population. Senior he remains almost defiantly cheerful By Alec Bruce citizens are still smarting from his effort in the face of his adversities. “When it (temporarily aborted, after much public comes to the challenges, I think I have outcry) to factor their personal assets two ways of saying it. As a province into the cost of nursing home residence. it’s about getting our finances and And the business community remains our economy in order, going forward. bemused by his decision to maintain a Personally, it’s about communications — moratorium on the development of shale getting the message out, explaining to gas. people what we’re doing and why we Then, there are the structural are doing it.” challenges he inherited from his As for public opinion polls — Tory predecessors — starting with specifically, his precipitous drop in a $400-million annual deficit, a popularity these past few months — he’s $12-billion long-term debt, a stubbornly equally sanguine: “One of the things I high unemployment rate of 11 per cent, learned early on is that you don’t want and virtually non-existent GDP growth. to let that kind of thing affect you. If you Indeed, not long ago, the Conference go up with the highs and down with Board of Canada had this to say about the lows, it’s going to be an emotional the general state of the provincial roller coaster. From a governing point economy: “New Brunswick ranks last of view, it’s clear that we face a lot of among the provinces, second-to-last tough challenges. That’s the priority.” overall, and worse than the bottom- That is, of course, the sort of ranked peer country on two indicators, implacable, steady and friendly scoring ‘D-’ grades for income per resolve New Brunswickers found most capita and outward greenfield Foreign attractive about the man (apart from, Direct Investment performance.” It perhaps, his GQ-model good looks) a scored only slightly higher ‘C’ grades year ago. Even now, almost everyone in on the unemployment rate, employment this province — even his political foes — growth, GDP growth, and labour acknowledge that he is a genuinely fine productivity growth. fellow. The province’s demographic woes are just as troubling. “Look around you,” entreats Born Brian Alexander Gallant Donald Savoie, an expert in public in the tiny New Brunswick town of administration and regional economic Bridge, the early life of the development, based at Université de future premier of Canada’s third- . “(When) you have an aging smallest province reads like a chapter population and you can’t attract new ripped straight out of the pages of a , what it means is that Horatio Alger novel: Poor boy from

32 Atlantic Business Magazine | January/February 2016 humble beginnings puts his shoulder last year, “I thought it would be a controversial practice of hydraulic to the wheel and makes good. great way to learn and a great way fracturing, which involves blowing One of three children born to Pierre to fully understand our system and water mixed with chemicals at high and Marilyn (nee Scholten), Gallant how it works — and what are the pressure into sedimentary rock to says his taste for politics developed good things? And what are some release and extract natural gas. early. “When I was 11, I sort of fell into of the tougher things? So I think I Wouldn’t that, they fretted, poison student politics.” accomplished most of those.” supplies of potable water? As he told a Global News interviewer In 2013, he took another crack Gallant made good use of all following his election win, “I actually at breaking into the public square, concerns, promising to carefully became vice president of my Grade 5 this time winning a by-election in review the way government class simply because nobody wanted Kent, becoming leader of the Official bureaucrats spend money while the job. I loved it. You listen to people, Opposition in late April of that year banging the drum for economic you try and figure out solutions to and setting his sights firmly on the diversification, job creation, and problems, you try to lead people, you premier’s office. long-term infrastructure development try to come up with innovative ideas to Gallant’s campaign strategy was, through a $900-million spend on do things better.” by turns, cunning and alluring to roads, highways, bridges, sewer According to Gallant’s high-school New Brunswickers. He knew that the systems, and the like. In the end, he vice principal, Luc Michaud, that’s just provincial electorate had grown weary said, a Liberal government would about right: “When he was student and angry with David Alward’s Tories create 5,000 new jobs. And there were council president, he even went into over the previous four years. It was other goodies: Tax hikes on the one- the classrooms of younger grades and dissatisfied with that government’s percenters and on businesses; home talked about issues like bullying. I’ve constant trimming around the edges of renovation grants to old folks, whose had other students do that, but he did the public service with no appreciable numbers in the province were rising; it on his own volition. He took it upon improvement in the public accounts. and 6,000 new, publicly-subsidized himself as a Grade 12 student to talk to Worse, perhaps, was the horror a daycare spots. the Grade 9 students.” goodly number of voters felt at the His coup de grâce, though, was “I once told him, ‘You know, I see Progressive Conservatives’ support for inarguably his position on shale gas in you all the qualities of leadership shale gas development in the province development. He argued persuasively that would make a premier of New — an industry that depended on the that good, credible information about Brunswick.’ He’s gone into this job of premier with his eyes wide open. His purpose is to leave New Brunswick in better shape than he found it. I appreciate even more than I had just how tough his job must be. He’s the right man for the job.” Of course, Gallant didn’t know this when he graduated from high school. frexible His immediate objective was to obtain [frek-suh-buh l] a university education. He started and operated two small businesses adjective 1. easily modified or adapted. a frexible meeting space. to pay his way through college. He received a Bachelor in Business We’ll even go so far as to make up a new word to give you exactly Administration with a concentration in what you need. Fredericton is welcoming and walkable, sociable finance and a Bachelor of Law degree and smart. And we’re 36,000 square feet in the centre of it all. from the Université de Moncton. He subsequently received a Master’s in Law degree from McGill University. Professionally, he pursued a career with the firm Stewart McKelvey in the areas of corporate and commercial law, eventually joining the Veritas Law firm in Dieppe as a partner. Ultimately, though, the lure of politics — and what it could do for people in the hands of a dedicated elected official — proved irresistible. In 2006, at the ridiculously tender age of 24, he ran against New Brunswick’s Erin Blanchard | [email protected] Tory premier at the time, . www.frederictonconventions.ca He failed to unseat the incumbent, but New BruNswick’s premier meetiNg destiNatioN he has never regretted the challenge he launched, telling Global News

atlanticbusinessmagazine.com | Atlantic Business Magazine 33 the impact of hydraulic fracturing was, This also affects the potash industry the scope of Brian Gallant, or in to say the least, thin. He promised in New Brunswick, which needs fact, anyone… Look, several months to bar the industry, which had been (comparatively inexpensive) shale gas ago the New Brunswick Medical exploring and conducting minor to make any of its expansion plans Association said we need more production operations for at least a viable and economic.” resources, we need more doctors, decade, from proceeding until such Regarding the broader provincial we need better equipment. Now, the time as he was certain that no harm economy, Fitch notes, “After this Medical Association is full of well- from it would come to New Brunswick government promised to create 5,000 educated people. They know full well communities and families. jobs, the province is down 2,600. that we have a $12-billion debt and The young political hopeful stood Meanwhile, 8,600 people have left $400-million deficit. If you are going in sharp contrast to the beleaguered, New Brunswick. We need these to advance that kind of logic, you have 50-something David Alward: Merry, people.” to ask where are you going to cut and energetic, bright-eyed and genuinely He also decries what he detects what taxes are you going to increase? engaged with public opinion. is a troubling track record in the It’s too easy to dump on the premier; He still is. “Jobs and economic premier’s dealings with his civil it’s too easy to dump on the provincial growth are what we are focused on service and even members of his own government.” as our number one priority,” he says staff. Having essentially continued For his part, Gallant bears nothing today. “Diversity is also important. Alward’s program of cost constraints of the countenance of a doomed man. What I think we need to do as a in the provincial bureaucracy, Gallant, He speaks enthusiastically, even province is not put all our eggs in one he says, has presided over “the firing compassionately, about the province’s basket or even two baskets. We really of a substantial number of deputy opportunities and hopes. It starts, for need to have many efforts… Helping ministers since he took office; and he’s him, with kids. “The thing that I would small businesses, we are going to on about his third chief of staff.” probably be happiest about over the ensure that we help develop natural Then there’s the recent nursing- past year is that this government has resources in a responsible way. We home debacle, which raised its hoary invested the most in education in the want to invest in our infrastructure. head last fall, when the Gallant history of the province,” he says. That will help us be more competitive. government announced that it would, “To me, our focus in the province We also want to invest in innovation henceforth, move to an asset-based has to be about growing the economy and start-ups in New Brunswick. All of means test, from an income-based and creating jobs. And we also want these things are collectively important. model, for seniors’ care. That meant to ensure that New Brunswick is a As a province we will do all of these that those seeking elder residence great place to live, work and play. things.” in provincially-subsidized facilities Obviously you need many efforts His message hasn’t changed would have to factor in their entire and investments to make that a measurably over the past year. net worth (not just their income) to reality, but I think it’s pretty clear Then, again, neither has the shape determine how low or high their that education is the one area that of the economy nor the condition of monthly nursing-home costs would gives you those things. I am a huge the public accounts, which haven’t be. After a firestorm of public outrage, proponent of the role that education responded appreciably to Gallant’s the government backed away from the can play in developing our economy, election platform. That suggests that plan, agreeing to “reset” the policy. and, of course, what it does for either it’s too soon to hold the young every individual in giving them premier’s feet to the fire or, in the opportunities in our province. So I am opinion of at least one determined Others, however, are not so quick to very happy, despite the fact that we critic, he simply doesn’t know what he draw their six guns. Donald Savoie, for face many challenges both fiscally and is doing. one, thinks that public expectations economically, that as a government in this province are failing to adjust to we were able to prioritize education the grim realities they simply refuse to the extent that we did, increasing New Brunswick’s Opposition to face. the budget by $33 million, which Leader, , has never minced “What Brian Gallant is confronting represents an increase of over 3.1 per his words. And the Tory MLA is as is bigger than any premier,” he says. cent.” clear as a bell today: “Under the “It would take (former New Brunswick That may be a drop in the bucket. Gallant government, natural resources premiers) Frank McKenna and Richard It may be too little too late. It may, projects have been delayed or stalled.” Hatfield, combined, to meet the in the end, be false hope, given the He’s especially irked by his Liberal challenge. That’s the kind of crisis we scope of the other challenges he faces opponent’s position on shale gas: “The are confronting in New Brunswick. I as Canada’s youngest premier. But, Gallant government came in with a don’t think people have come to terms regardless of political mishaps and moratorium on shale gas. What did with it… We’ve talked about it. We’ve public opinion after one year in office, that cause? One company, Corridor written some op-eds about it. But we he’s still smiling. • Resources, has laid off three full-time are confronting an extremely serious employees. Another, SWN Resources, challenge the likes of which we’d have has suspended its operations in the to go back to the 1940s, the 1930s, to FEEDBACK * [email protected]; province. The fact is, it’s virtually witness.” [email protected] impossible to invest in a company He adds: “Bruce Fitch can say a @AtlanticBus; @ABM_Editor; when a moratorium hovers over it. what he wants, but this is beyond @BrianGallantNB

34 Atlantic Business Magazine | January/February 2016