REGINA - As an election call in Saskatchewan moves one week closer to reality, activities on the federal scene seemed to upstage activities of the two main provincial parties.
This week federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre signalled he would move a no-confidence motion in the Liberal government next week.
However, the chances of the Liberal government falling dimmed considerably when both the Bloc Québécois and the NDP announced this week they would vote against it.
That prompted a response on the X platform from Premier Scott Moe on Thursday:
“And there it is. The federal NDP, who have the full support of the SK NDP, are going to vote to keep Trudeau in power and keep the carbon tax on all our bills.” The post was another broadside from the Premier aimed at linking the provincial NDP to the federal carbon tax, despite the provincial NDP repeatedly saying they were opposed to it.
The political fallout from two federal byelections also made news. The Liberal government took a major hit Monday with losses in both seats -- one to the NDP in Winnipeg, and the other a loss of a safe Liberal seat to the Bloc Québécois in Quebec.
The drama in Ottawa over the by-elections and non-confidence motion, and speculation about whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would be able to stay in power, seemed to take attention away from all the pre-election announcements that happened throughout the week in Saskatchewan.
The major parties have continued to ramp up their media events. The Saskatchewan Party cabinet have continued to make announcements across the province touting various investments and achievements of the government.
This week, Premier Moe was at the grand opening of the new Carrot River Valley School, at the sod turning for the Saskatoon Urgent Care Centre in partnership with Ahtahkakoop Cree Developments, and at the signing of a letter of intent with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for expanded apprenticeship training options.
Also this week in Pilot Butte, outside Regina, the province released its update on the Saskatchewan Growth Plan, touting 19,200 new jobs, record population growth up to 1.23 million, and exporting over $1 billion to nine markets.
It was at that announcement that Minister of Trade and Export Development Jeremy Harrison spoke to reporters about another emerging federal issue — the Feds’ proposal to relocate asylum seekers currently flooding into Ontario and Quebec to other provinces, including Saskatchewan.
But that plan has seen resistance from a number of provinces. Harrison confirmed Monday that Saskatchewan would not be accepting those asylum seekers either.
"We’re not going to be receiving any from the federal government. We’ve been very clear about asylum seekers. This was an issue created by Justin Trudeau and the federal government. This is an issue Justin Trudeau and the federal government need to solve, not on the backs of provinces,” Harrison said to reporters.
Harrison reiterated that “what we have said all the way along is that regular and lawful immigration is something that we are open to and beyond open to. That's something that we have encouraged and I think has been a great benefit to the province. That's kind of what we want to continue on that path. The issues created by the government of Canada, they need to solve those issues on their own.”
As for the Sask Party itself, with the recent nomination of Kevin Weedmark in Moosomin-Montmartre they filled their full slate of 61 candidate spots for the 2024 election last week.
Following that nomination the party also disclosed information on past convictions of their slate of MLA candidates. Those candidates convicted of DUIs include Premier Moe in 1992, Terry Jenson in 1994, James Thorsteinson in 2003, Chris Beaudry in 2008, and Sean Wilson in 2011.
As for the New Democrats, even with the official campaign period yet to get under way, the party has continued to hold campaign events and release new policy.
Their major announcement this week was the unveiling in Saskatoon of their 'Hire Saskatchewan' plan. According to the party’s news release, the plan “will retool the province’s existing procurement Crown, SaskBuilds, to ensure that Saskatchewan workers and businesses are put first for public contracts, like building and maintaining public infrastructure.”
The party says the successful bidders for public projects will be chosen based on “value and benefit to local communities and families,” not just the lowest price.
Later in the week, NDP Leader Carla Beck was on tour in Athabasca riding, a longtime NDP seat the party hopes to take back following a byelection defeat to the Sask Party in 2022.
While there, Beck released the party’s northern strategy which included cost of living relief, hiring more doctors and nurses, increased funding to education and investment in highways maintenance.
There has been new polling out this week pointing to a tightening race. An Angus Reid poll released this week saw approval for Premier Moe at 45 per cent, around the middle of the pack among Premiers.
That prompted the NDP to send out a news release pointing out that “Moe’s approval has tanked four points since the summer and has been trending downwards for the last nine months.
“… Scott Moe is now just as unpopular as his predecessor was before he resigned. Brad Wall's approval rating sharply declined to 45 per cent in his final months as Premier after he raised taxes and cut services. “
A new poll conducted for Mainstreet on Sept. 15 was also released, which pointed to a somewhat more optimistic picture for the government. It had the Sask Party at 50 per cent, and the NDP at 40.
More government announcements are planned for early next week around Saskatchewan, and some other political events are on the schedule as well. The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce is hosting two “pre-election dialogue” events during noon hours at the Hilton Doubletree in Regina. Tuesday will focus on the Sask Party with speakers Jim Reiter and Jeremy Harrison; Thursday will be the NDP and speaker Carla Beck.
Next Wednesday, Beck is scheduled to be officially nominated in Regina Lakeview at an event that is being billed as their campaign kickoff. A bus is being chartered to bring a number of people to the event from Saskatoon, with several MLAs and candidates set to attend as well.
It remains unclear when Premier Moe will actually go to Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty to officially call a provincial election. However, time is clearly running short before an election has to be called. The latest he could call it is Oct. 1 for a Oct. 28 date, according to the election dates legislation.
Other provinces are seeing elections being called this week. On Thursday, PC Premier Blaine Higgs called an election for New Brunswick for Oct. 21. NDP Premier David Eby is expected to call an election in British Columbia this Saturday, expected to be held Oct. 19.
As for the other parties, the main news emerging from the Sask United Party this week was word that two ex-Sask Party MLAs would run under their banner as candidates. Former Arm River MLA Greg Brkich will run in Saskatoon Southeast, while former Rosthern-Shellbrook MLA Denis Allchurch will be running in Meadow Lake. Allchurch held Rosthern-Shellbrook until 2011 when he lost the nomination to challenger Scott Moe.
As for upcoming events, Sask United Leader Jon Hromek is scheduled to be in Regina Beach for an event Saturday and is in Weyburn next Monday.
