| Office | Minister of Public Safety |
|---|---|
| Premier | Blaine Higgs |
| Term start | October 13, 2022 |
| Term end | November 2, 2024 |
| Predecessor | Bill Hogan |
| Successor | Robert Gauvin |
| Office 1 | Leader of the People's Alliance of New Brunswick |
| Term start 1 | June 5, 2010 |
| Term end 1 | March 30, 2022 |
| Predecessor 1 | Position established |
| Successor 1 | Rick DeSaulniers |
| Assembly 2 | New Brunswick Legislative |
| Constituency am 2 | Fredericton-Grand Lake |
| Term start 2 | September 24, 2018 |
| Predecessor 2 | Pam Lynch |
| Birth date | 1979 (age 47–48) |
| Birth place | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Party | Progressive Conservative |
| Other party | People's Alliance of New Brunswick (2010–2022) |
| Occupation | Minister |
Kris Austin (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)
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 caused Bill Hogan, the former public safety minister, to take his place.[6]
In December 2023, Mayor Allan MacEachern of St. Stephen 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 likening 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 was not 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 through a homelessness committee with council approval. However, according to MacEachern, the province later deemed the selected property unsuitable, resulting in a temporary halt to the project.[8] Austin made additional comments in which he blamed Liberal policies for the homeless man's death, 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]
References
- ^ "Kris Austin wins People's Alliance party's first seat in New Brunswick legislature". globalnews.ca
- ^ "Kris Austin's appointment to cabinet 'an insult': N.B. linguistic group". Global News. October 14, 2022.
- ^ Awde, Savannah (March 30, 2022). "BREAKING: People's Alliance MLAs join Tory government". Telegraph-Journal. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ Poitras, Jacques (March 30, 2022). "People's Alliance MLAs cross floor to join Tory government". CBC News. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ "A look at New Brunswick People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin". National Post. August 22, 2018.
- ^ Poitras, Jacques (13 October 2022). "Cardy resigns as N.B. education minister, sends scorching letter to premier". CBC News. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Bates, Andrew (6 December 2023). "N.B. public safety minister calls town's state of emergency over homelessness 'frivolous,' despite fatality | SaltWire". www.saltwire.com. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Armstrong, Lyndsay (6 December 2023). "N.B. minister's comments on homeless state of emergency lack compassion: mayor | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ "Rent bank, St. Stephen solution on the way soon, says housing minister". CBC. Yahoo News. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ MacRae, Avery (6 December 2023). "State of emergency order terminated in St. Stephen less than 48 hours after its announcement". CTV Atlantic. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Rudderham, Hannah (5 December 2023). "St. Stephen declares state of emergency over homelessness after man's death". CBC News. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Poitras, Jacques (8 December 2023). "Austin's attack on 'leftist agendas' aims to draw sharp contrast with Liberals". CBC News. Retrieved 12 December 2023.