The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick has nominated Christian TV host Faytene Grasseschi as their candidate for Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins.
Ms. Grassechi is well known as a host of a talk show that airs on V-Kol Media, a national Christian charity, directed by Ms. Grasseschi and her husband, Robert.
She told the crowd at the announcement that she was motivated to make a difference.
Ms. Grassechi said it was a fellow journalist that got her thinking about moving into politics after she started a petition that garnered a lot of attention.
“I thought it was just a simple little petition and that petition went boom in a minute. We saw thousands of people sign up,” she said.
In one conversation with her journalist friend, Ms. Grassechi said he asked if she had considered running for provincial office. Shortly after, she heard that the MLA in the riding where she lived would not be seeking re-election.
“I began to hear chatter that Minister [Gary] Crossman was going to be retiring and ... people began to ... say Faytene you know, Minister Crossman is retiring, Premier [Blaine] Higgs needs a team that’s actually going to be his team and have his back when it comes to important issues like representing the majority of New Brunswickers on an issue that they care about.”
She said she admired the premier.
“When I saw Premier Higgs, take a stand for parents … and when I saw the heat that he was taking, I thought, ‘You know what, this is a leader that has a pedigree and a stature.’”
She said it was something that was so rare to see.
Mr. Higgs, who attended the announcement, also posted the news to X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Her wealth of experience will add considerable value to our team and she will be a strong representative.”
Ms. Grasseschi said she wanted to focus on the needs of constituents.
“We need to look to the needs of our seniors in the next five years, the needs of our children, the needs of the people that are going to continue to move to New Brunswick because this is the place to be,” she said.
“I’m excited about rolling up my sleeves over the next month. I’m excited about working together. I’m excited about having innovation sessions about how to solve our riding’s greatest challenges.”
The dissent in the party is connected to the premier’s move to revise Policy 713, which was established on Aug. 17, 2020, regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Policy 713 will stay, and if anything, it will be strengthened because it will have better support from parents who will have greater clarity around sections that are vague and causing confusion,” the release said.
Mr. Higgs stood by his decision even after losing the support of some party members.
