Cardy resigns as NB Education Minister and sends raunchy letter to Premier

Dominic Cardy has resigned as New Brunswick’s Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Cardy announced in a tweet that he was leaving Premier Blaine Higgs’ cabinet, but would remain as the Progressive Conservative MP for Fredericton West-Hanwell.

In a raunchy resignation letter to Higgs, Cardy slammed the prime minister’s leadership style, saying ‘change requires care, not a wrecking ball’ and that some French-as-a-second-language education reforms ‘will stall because of your micromanagement ».

« You can’t change deadlines on large systems based on your emotional state, without hurting the quality of work or your team’s morale, » the letter says.

He also accuses Higgs of « choosing to shout ‘data my ass’ at a senior official » because he didn’t like what the department’s numbers were showing.

« That was the end of your political project in my eyes: if you reject the evidence because you don’t like it, then you don’t believe the evidence, » he wrote.

Cardy also said that Higgs’ abolition of partially elected regional health boards represented « a steady consolidation of power in your hands » and that he was trying to delay or undermine reconciliation between language communities and with indigenous peoples.

Cardy did not immediately respond to an interview request.

The former New Brunswick NDP leader joined PCs in 2017 as an adviser to Higgs and ran for the Conservatives in the 2018 election.

At the time Cardy switched sides, Higgs said they were « directly aligned on so many issues, » but acknowledged they wouldn’t agree on everything.

« I want people who are going to bring ideas and take action into the group, » Higgs said.

« We can fix any minor issues that come up because I do that with everyone every day. »

In 2020, Cardy failed to garner enough support from the PC caucus to pass a bill that would have eliminated philosophical and religious exemptions from the mandatory vaccination policy for schoolchildren.

And last year he criticized the government’s ban on provincial authorities issuing acknowledgments of indigenous lands at public events, saying it « adds unnecessary conflict that creates confusion and justifiable anger towards our government ».

On Wednesday, Higgs was coy with reporters about whether he plans to reshuffle his cabinet this month, which is in the middle of his four-year term.