New Brunswick activist and TV personality Faytene Grasseschi is running to become a provincial Progressive Conservative legislature member.
She is seeking the Progressive Conservative nomination in the riding of Hampton-Fundy-St. Martin, a riding currently represented by New Brunswick PC Environment Minister Gary Crossman, who is not seeking re-election.
Grasseschi made the announcement in a Facebook post, writing “after much deep thought and many late-night conversations with my husband and trusted friends, I have decided to put my name forward to run for office provincially.”
While her focus has traditionally been on federal politics, she noted that “in reality, many of the issues I care most deeply about are equally provincial.”
“I am getting involved with this party because I appreciate the work it is has been doing, and the values it has been standing for,” Grasseschi told True North.
“When Premier Higgs stuck his neck out for parents last summer, we launched the petition to support him — but at the same time there were those, even within his own party that really opposed him. I feel it is important for the Premier to have people around him that have the same core values, especially considering that according to polling his stance for parents is reflective of the majority.”
Grasesschi, who has been active in Canada’s Christian conservative circles for years through her ministry and advocacy work, as well as her television program – gained attention this summer for her campaign in support of Premier Blaine Higgs’ changes to education policy 713. The policy mandates schools to require parental consent before children under the age of 16 can change their name or pronouns.
Her pro-Higgs campaign, “Don’t Delete Patents,” contained a petition in support of the policy change which received thousands of signatures.
“His stance was a common-sense one… (but) in spite of this, Premier Blaine Higgs took a lot of heat in the media, and even from some of his own team.” Grasesschi wrote. “I felt it was only right to give those who agreed with him a tangible way to support.”
She called him a “true conservative with strong family values, but also has a strong business sense that this province has benefited from and will continue to.”
Higgs announced in September that he will seek a third term.
“I recognize that all New Brunswickers rightly expect a government to be unified and focussed on achieving better outcomes for the province,” Higgs wrote in an X post. “It is extremely important that we continue to build on this momentum while at the same time addressing the many challenges that we continue to face.”
Higgs has tapped reputed political strategist Steve Outhouse to run his re-election campaign. Outhouse was behind Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s successful 2023 re-election campaign, as well as MP Leslyn Lewis’ two federal Conservative leadership runs.
This is not Grasseschi’s first time running for office. She previously ran for the federal Conservative party nomination in Saint John—Rothesay, but lost that race.
The Hampton-Fundy-St. Martin provincial nomination vote will take place in December and the New Brunswick general election is set to take place sometime in 2024.
To win the nomination, Grasseschi must win in a vote among the PC party’s members in her riding.
