N.B. Liberal leader says it's not time for cuts

Liberal Leader Kevin Vickers says the province needs a growth agenda, not what he says are austerity and cuts promoted by Premier Blaine Higgs.

Vickers told a business audience today he would put the province's economic development agency — Opportunity New Brunswick — "on steroids."

Speaking later to the same group, Higgs said the budget his government tabled in the spring is paying off and he's not inventing anything new during the campaign.

He adds that the province needs to find new ways to provide health services as the demand for doctors increases.

Business leaders in New Brunswick says they want party leaders to put a business lens on decisions if they form government after the Sept. 14 provincial election.

Campaigning leaders usually pitch their platforms at business gatherings in the province's larger cities, but with COVID-19 restrictions in place, business groups in Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John are using video conferencing instead.