PCs carry on with nominations in N.B. despite COVID-19 restrictions

New Brunswick's Progressive Conservatives held five nomination conventions Saturday, and all incumbent MLAs were chosen to run again.

That includes Premier Blaine Higgs.

Nominations took place in Fredericton West-Hanwell and Oromocto-Lincoln-Fredericton at a meeting room at the Fredericton Inn.

Dominic Cardy, minister of education and early childhood development,received the nominationfor the Fredericton West-Hanwell riding.

Mary Wilson, minister of economic development and small business,was chosen to run again for Oromocto-Lincoln-Fredericton.

Nominations for Rothesay, Quispamsis and Hampton were held at a joint meeting inside a church hall in Quispamsis.

Higgs was declared the candidate for Quispamsis, Health Minister Ted Flemming for Rothesay, and Gary Crossman for Hampton.

At the Quispamsisevent, people were greeted with posters and banners of PC slogans and pictures of the premier.

Around 40 people attended in Quispamsis. Attendees gathered in a room that typically holds 800.

Masks were required and the floors were marked with arrows. Those who didn't have a mask were given one. Attendees were also required to use hand sanitizer upon entering the building.

People were also required to sign their name and leave their phone number for contact tracing.

The convention lasted roughly 30 minutes.

Liberal MLA Rob McKee criticized the government's move to hold nominations in an earlier interview with CBC News.

"To think you're going to have three ridings at one time, respecting social distancing all in the one room, I think that's going to be very hard to achieve," McKee said.

Public Health guidelines allow for indoor gatherings of up to 50 people as long as physicaldistancing rules are followed, and organizers keep track of contact information in case of infection.

Higgs undecided on calling election

Higgs hasn't decided whether he'll call a general election or proceed with three byelections, which would be held no later than Oct. 15.

• Behind the scenes preparations underway to navigate risks of possible snap election

On Saturday, Higgs said he's not ready to make an election call, but said he would decide over the next couple months.

"I'm not prepared to wait for COVID to end," he said.

"The fact that we're starting nominations is a very clear signal that we need to keep our province moving forward and it's not about kicking in neutral and waiting for a vaccine."

The threebyelections will be crucial in his decision to call a general election, he said.

If an election were called, Higgs said the setup for events and voting would be similar to Saturday's setup.

The government might also employ drive-thru voting stations. It could alsolook to Saskatchewan, which is holding elections at the end of October, for advice on how to run an election during a pandemic.

Elections NB is tasked with setting up a way for people to protect their health while voting in a democratic election.

"We cannot have anyone not vote because they fear for their health," Higgs said.

Higgs said he's open to changing legislation to allow for phone voting if a general election was called.

More than a dozen PC riding nominations are scheduled for the coming days.