REGINA — Saskatchewan was the place to be on the campaign trail for all three federal party leaders today, most notably NDP leader Jagmeet Singh who spent all day in south central Saskatchewan.
Joining Regina–Lewvan candidate Tria Donaldson, Singh was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of supporters when he stepped off the campaign bus at 13th Avenue Food & Coffee House, in the Cathedral District of Regina.
“It's so exciting to have Jagmeet here and I think it's a really great sign of the momentum we have across the country and right here in Regina–Lewvan,” said Donaldson, of the party leader’s visit.
Singh spent the earlier part of the day visiting Cowessess First Nation, located approximately 170 kilometres east of Regina.
Alongside Chief Cadmus Delorme, Singh toured the reservation and visited the cemetery site where researchers recently discovered hundreds of unmarked graves that may potentially be linked to the former Marieval Indian Residential School.
During this stop, Singh restated the NDP’s intentions to work with Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan to deliver affordable housing programs, clean drinking water and conclusions for the open legal cases involving Indigenous children.
“As the grandchild of a residential school survivor, the fact that he came to Cowessess to really remember the legacy at the unmarked graves means a lot to me as an Indigenous person,” said Donaldson.
While in Regina, Singh took time to meet and greet with assembled constituents — taking photos, signing Pride flags and listening to their thoughts.
Donaldson is campaigning to flip her riding from Conservative blue to NDP orange when voters hit the polls on Sept. 20, after the Tories swept all three ridings in the city back in 2019.
Some political experts are calling Regina–Lewvan the only riding in the city with the potential for such a flip.
“I think it's awesome [Singh is] here in the first week [of the campaign],” she continued. “It shows we have a real chance of winning here in Regina-–Lewvan and that it's a priority for the party.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also hosted a small impromptu rally for Liberals at the Regina airport, as he travelled through the province on his way back to Ottawa.
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole was in Manitoba for the majority of the day, before heading to Saskatoon for an evening meet-and-greet with supporters.
