The legislative chamber was overcome with applause when New Brunswick’s lieutenant-governor, smiling wide, addressed Susan Holt for the first time as “Madam Premier.”
Holt, a Liberal who won the premier’s job almost two weeks ago, was sworn in, along with her cabinet, during a Saturday afternoon ceremony in Fredericton.
The event marks the official transfer of responsibility from Blaine Higgs, the outgoing Progressive Conservative premier, and his cabinet after voters elected a Liberal majority on Oct. 21. It also officially makes Holt the first woman to be New Brunswick’s premier.
Speaking with reporters outside the legislature, Holt’s voice broke as she described the time since Oct. 21.
“It has been the best days of my life,” she said.
After being sworn in, Holt took a moment to recognize all of the women who have previously served as members of the assembly — asking those in attendance to rise.
While former Liberal MLAs like Aldéa Landry were present, so were incoming Progressive Conservative MLAs Sherry Wilson and Tammy Scott-Wallace, incoming Green Party MLA Megan Mitton and several former cabinet ministers who served with Higgs.
“The women who came before me paved the way. And every single one of them that got elected made it a little bit easier for the next of us to get here. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them,” Holt said.
“I wanted to make sure that they had an opportunity to be a part of the day, because I think it’s something that many of them have wished for, for longer than I have.”
Arlene Dunn, who held several ministerial roles in the Higgs government but resigned as a cabinet minister and MLA in February, was among them. She said Holt invited her to attend Saturday’s ceremony.
“It’s probably cliché to say there’s that empathy piece, there’s that compassion piece, but that really does matter to people. And I think that’s what it’s going to take to move our province forward. We don’t need division,” Dunn said.
“I’m really excited for the future…. I think she’s going to do an amazing job.”
Former NDP MLA Elizabeth Weir, New Brunswick’s first female party leader to win a seat in the legislature, said she hopes Holt’s win will open the door to more women running for office.
“There are those rare moments in your life where you are able to experience a moment of history, and that’s what happened this afternoon in the chamber,” Weir said.
“I’m just feeling a sense of the profound change that we can make. It often doesn’t happen overnight … but it is just reassuring that things can move forward.”
Jill Green, a minister under Higgs who lost her seat in the election, called the day momentous for all New Brunswickers but especially for women in the province.
Wolastoqey elder Opolahsomuwehs, whose English name is Imelda Perley, held a blanket ceremony for Holt after the swearing-in.
“Whenever we visited each other before electricity … blankets were very revered as a protection,” she said. “We wanted to protect the leader for doing something different than what any other leader has ever done.”
At a ceremony earlier on Saturday, all members of the Legislative Assembly were sworn in.
Lt.-Gov. Brenda Murphy called the moment “her-storical,” as New Brunswick elected a record-high number of women to the assembly, with 17 of 49.
Holt announced her cabinet and House leadership selections on Friday.
On Saturday, she said the first meeting of cabinet will take place on Monday, and the legislative sitting will begin on Nov. 19.
