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Kris Austin

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Kris Austin
MLA
Austin in 2020
Minister of Public Safety
In office
October 13, 2022 – November 2, 2024
PremierBlaine Higgs
Preceded byBill Hogan
Succeeded byRobert Gauvin
Leader of the People's Alliance of New Brunswick
In office
June 5, 2010 – March 30, 2022
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byRick DeSaulniers
Member of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly
for Fredericton-Grand Lake
Incumbent
Assumed office
September 24, 2018
Preceded byPam Lynch
Personal details
Born1979 (age 44–45)
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative
Other political
affiliations		People's Alliance of New Brunswick (2010– 2022)
OccupationMinister

Kris Austin MLA (born 1979) is a Canadian politician who serves as an MLA in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick.[1] Previously, he served as the leader of the People's Alliance of New Brunswick. On October 13, 2022, he was appointed minister of public safety and solicitor-general by Premier Blaine Higgs and served in that position until the Higgs government was defeated in the 2024 New Brunswick general election.[2]

Austin led the People's Alliance into the 2010 provincial election and 2014 provincial elections in which the party won no seats. In the 2018 provincial election the party won three seats including Austin's riding of Fredericton-Grand Lake. He was re-elected in the 2020 provincial election in which his party lost one seat, electing two MLAs.

On March 30, 2022, Austin announced he will be leaving the People's Alliance of New Brunswick to join the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick.[3][4]

Austin is a Baptist minister and has worked in public relations.[5]

Austin's appointment to provincial cabinet in the Higgs government was denounced by the Société de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick due to his opposition to Acadian rights and official bilingualism.[2]

Minister of Public Safety (2022–2024)

[edit]

On October 13, 2022, Austin was appointed as the Minister of Public Safety following Dominic Cardy's resignation as the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, which had caused Bill Hogan, the former public safety minister, to take his place.[6]

In December 2023, Mayor Allan MacEachern of St. Stephen's declared a state of emergency due to an increase in homelessness along with the recent death of a homeless person in the municipality. The provincial government was accused of failing to offer housing and social services as part of the declaration. The municipality has a population of just over 4,000, 70 of whom are homeless.[7][8] Shortly following the state of emergency, Austin terminated it,[9][10] calling it disappointing and likened it to car accidents by saying, “People die all the time in car accidents, and we do not declare state of emergencies for that.”[11] He later reaffirmed this by emphasizing that the situation wasn't severe enough to constitute a state of emergency. The ensuing disagreement between Austin and MacEachern led to Austin proposing that St. Stephen provide shelter for the homeless, which MacEachern claimed to have already tried doing through a homelessness committee with council approval. However, according to MacEachern, the province later deemed the selected property to be used unsuitable, resulting in a temporary halt in the project.[8] Austin made additional comments in which he put the blame of the homeless man's death on Liberal policies, stating, "All of these issues that we're facing today is based on Trudeau policies, leftist agendas, that is degrading our society that we're seeing right across the country."[12]

Electoral record

[edit]
2020 New Brunswick general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
People's Alliance Kris Austin 3,759 46.42 -8.16
Progressive Conservative Roy Wiggins 2,479 30.62 +2.95
Green Ken Washburn 1,005 12.41 +7.04
Liberal Eldon Hunter 749 9.25 -1.61
New Democratic Greg Cook 87 1.07 -0.22
KISS Grenville Woollacott 18 0.22 +0.01
Total valid votes 8,097 100.0
Total rejected ballots 25 0.31
Turnout 8,122 70.17
Eligible voters 11,575
People's Alliance hold Swing -5.56
Source: Elections New Brunswick[13]
2018 New Brunswick general election: Fredericton-Grand Lake
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
People's Alliance Kris Austin 4,799 54.6% +25.8
Progressive Conservative Pam Lynch 2,433 27.7% -1.1
Liberal Wendy Tremblay 955 10.9% -17.0
Green Dan Weston 472 5.4% +1.1
New Democratic Glenna Hanley 114 1.3% -9.2
KISS Gerald Bourque 19 0.1% New
Total valid votes 8,792 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 10
Turnout 8,802 75.08%
Eligible voters 11,724
People's Alliance gain from Progressive Conservative Swing +13.5
Source: Elections New Brunswick[13]
2014 New Brunswick general election: Fredericton-Grand Lake
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Pam Lynch 2,403 28.79
People's Alliance Kris Austin 2,377 28.48
Liberal Sheri Shannon 2,330 27.91
New Democratic Bronwen Mosher 879 10.53
Green Dan Weston 358 4.29
Total valid votes 8,347 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 16 0.19
Turnout 8,363 70.66
Eligible voters 11,835
Voting results declared after judicial recount.
This riding was created from parts of Grand Lake-Gagetown and Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak, both elected a Progressive Conservative in the previous election. Pam Lynch was the incumbent from Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak.
Source: Elections New Brunswick[13]
2010 New Brunswick general election: Grand Lake-Gagetown
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Ross Wetmore 3,190 44.73 -0.89
Liberal Barry Armstrong 2,118 29.70 -19.00
People's Alliance Kris Austin 1,416 19.85 –
New Democratic J.R. Magee 234 3.28 -2.40
Green Sandra Burtt 174 2.44 –
Total valid votes 7,132 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 42 0.59
Turnout 7,174 77.73
Eligible voters 9,229
Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +9.06
Source: Elections New Brunswick[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Kris Austin wins People's Alliance party's first seat in New Brunswick legislature". globalnews.ca.
  2. ^ a b "Kris Austin's appointment to cabinet 'an insult': N.B. linguistic group". Global News. October 14, 2022.
  3. ^ Awde, Savannah (March 30, 2022). "BREAKING: People's Alliance MLAs join Tory government". Telegraph-Journal. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  4. ^ Poitras, Jacques (March 30, 2022). "People's Alliance MLAs cross floor to join Tory government". CBC News. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  5. ^ "A look at New Brunswick People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin". National Post. August 22, 2018.
  6. ^ Poitras, Jacques (October 13, 2022). "Cardy resigns as N.B. education minister, sends scorching letter to premier". CBC News. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  7. ^ Bates, Andrew (December 6, 2023). "N.B. public safety minister calls town's state of emergency over homelessness 'frivolous,' despite fatality | SaltWire". www.saltwire.com. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Armstrong, Lyndsay (December 6, 2023). "N.B. minister's comments on homeless state of emergency lack compassion: mayor | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  9. ^ "Rent bank, St. Stephen solution on the way soon, says housing minister". CBC. Yahoo News. December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  10. ^ MacRae, Avery (December 6, 2023). "State of emergency order terminated in St. Stephen less than 48 hours after its announcement". CTV Atlantic. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  11. ^ Rudderham, Hannah (December 5, 2023). "St. Stephen declares state of emergency over homelessness after man's death". CBC News. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  12. ^ Poitras, Jacques (December 8, 2023). "Austin's attack on 'leftist agendas' aims to draw sharp contrast with Liberals". CBC News. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d "Provincial Election Results". Elections New Brunswick.
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