Hannah Fulton Johnston, executive director of the New Brunswick Liberal Association, condemned Higgs’s anecdote in a statement issued on Friday in which she called the joke distasteful. “The New Brunswick Liberal Association is calling on Blaine Higgs to apologize for this comment,” it reads.

FREDERICTON — New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has called a provincial election for Oct. 21. The Progressive Conservative premier made the announcement this morning after visiting Lt.-Gov. Brenda Murphy at her official residence in Fredericton.

FREDERICTON — New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has called an election for Oct. 21, signalling the beginning of a 33-day campaign expected to focus on pocketbook issues and the government's provocative approach to gender identity policies.