SAINT JOHN, N.B. — An activist and Christian TV host who galvanized supporters by focusing on New Brunswick's policy on gender identity in schools was acclaimed as the candidate for the province's governing Progressive Conservatives in the riding next to the premier's.
To cheers, claps and whistles, Faytene Grasseschi was welcomed by Premier Blaine Higgs and a standing-room only crowd Tuesday night as the first official candidate for the next provincial election at the nomination meeting in Nauwigewauk, N.B. The next provincial election is scheduled for Oct. 21, 2024.
"Premier Higgs needs a team that's actually going to be his team. Right? And have his back," she said, addressing the crowd.
Grasseschi, who will run in the riding of Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins currently held by a Tory who is stepping aside, said what caught her attention about Higgs was that he "stuck his neck out for parents" on the issue of gender identity.
"When I saw the heat that he was taking, I thought, 'You know what? This is a leader that has a pedigree and a stature,' and --I'll just use the word again, pedigree -- that is so rare in our nation," she said.
One of the main thrusts of Policy 713 is that students under 16 who identify as transgender and nonbinary won't be able to officially change the names or pronouns they use in school without parental consent.
Mal Leach, who works in St. Martin's, N.B., said Grasseschi's stance on parents appealed to him.
"She supports parents and their ability to know what's going on with their kids in school," he said. "I felt that that was very important."
Addressing the crowd at the meeting, Higgs described how his party got on the "mission of parental rights." The Progressive Conservatives recently sent fundraising letters under Higgs' name inviting people to pledge their support for parental rights and to make a donation to the party.
"We're trying to protect everyone. We're trying to find a solution," Higgs told the meeting Tuesday. "Parents are the continuous force in a child's life. And that never ends."
Grasseschi is a well-known figure in Christian conservative circles.
According to her website, her television show airs on nine networks, 14 times a week, and "is a ministry of V-Kol Media Ministries." V-Kol is a Christian charity "committed to being a voice in our times through media, prayer mobilization, equipping and outreach."
Gordon O'Coin, who was at the acclamation meeting and lives in the riding, said he first came across Grasseschi through her TV program a few years ago. "Her Christian values certainly appealed to me," he said. "And just good morals."
Party member Dwight Bond praised her professional talents and her values, as well as her belief "in the basic fundamentals of God and nature."
Grasseschi is also the author of several books.
In one of her books, "Marked," published in 2009 under her maiden name Kryskow, she wrote about God speaking to her and described same-sex marriage as a threat to traditional marriage — even suggesting it could lead to man being able to marry a dog.
She said nations that "bend the knee of humility to the one true God shall be given strength to conquer." She described her activism as preparing a throne for Christ. "I am working to build a throne for Jesus in my city," she wrote. "I love it."
On Tuesday night, when asked if she stands by what she wrote in the book, she said she couldn't "with integrity, answer that question," because the book was written so long ago. "I would have to refresh myself," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2023.
The Canadian Press
