Higgs won't throw in the towel, despite discouraging 2021 

Despite a pandemic that he said in October had "consumed" his mandate, Blaine Higgs says he has no plans to throw in the towel as premier in the coming year.

In a year-end interview, Higgs says while soaring case counts, voter anger and plunging poll numbers are discouraging, he has no interest in retiring early and will continue working through his to-do list in 2022 and beyond.

"I don't know if I'm looking like I'm getting tired of being premier or what," he said. "But no, it hasn't affected my duration, at least as far as my motivation to continue on with some of the major files that we're working on."

Nor would his COVID-19 troubles influence his decision on whether to seek another mandate in 2024, when he'll be 70 years old.

"It's not going to play a role in my decision in that regard, and I obviously haven't made any decisions in that regard," he said.

The premier also defended his handling of COVID-19, an approach that was praised early in the pandemic but that has drawn criticism since the late summer, when cases began increasing after a full reopening July 30.

Higgs has acknowledged the lifting of all restrictions happened too early, declaring in October that "we may have made mistakes along the way" but insisting the decisions were based on the best information available at the time.

"We work together as a team to put the full package together that we think is in the best interests," he said in the CBC year-end interview.

"It isn't a unilateral decision, it isn't something where I throw darts at a wall and try to say, 'Well, will this work?' It's done through a basis of calculations to minimize risk."

On Oct. 21, the premier held a downbeat news conference where he sounded dejected about rising COVID numbers and reaching the grim milestone of 100 deaths.

"It is extremely hard to come to terms with the fact that COVID is here to stay," he said morosely. The pandemic that began little more than a year after he became premier had "consumed our mandate," he added.

He also complained about being the target of nasty comments.

"We all can become demoralized. We are all COVID-tired. But the individual comments do matter. They hurt. They hurt my team. They hurt myself. They hurt my family. They hurt our ability to get up and carry on as we must." 

Higgs complained again in November during a two-week strike by the Canadian Union of Public Employees. He said being premier "is not a fun job and I'm not making it any more pleasant with what I'm going through right now."