Harper consults N.B. politicians on new lieutenant-governor

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has asked New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham and Opposition Leader David Alward for help in appointing a new lieutenant-governor, CBC News has learned.

Usually, the prime minister makes the choice unilaterally, but Harper has asked for a joint recommendation from the two provincial leaders, sources said.

The term of the current Lt.-Gov. Hermngilde Chiasson expires at the end of September, after being extended by one year.

Graham and Alward have already been discussing potential candidates, sources said, and it is expected Harper will accept their recommendation.

Chiasson, a noted Acadian poet and playwright, was appointed to the position in 2003, and convention dictates that a lieutenant-governor should serve for five years.

But last year Harper asked Chiasson to continue on in the position. The government argued that it would be beneficial to have a French-speaking lieutenant-governor to take part in the 2009 World Acadian Congress. The lieutenant-governor's appointment in New Brunswick typically alternates between anglophones and francophones

The congress is currently taking place on the Acadian Peninsula and wraps up on Aug. 23.