The Saskatchewan provincial election campaign is underway.
On Tuesday morning, Sask. Party Leader Scott Moe asked Lt.-Gov. Russ Mirasty to dissolve the government and drop the writ. Voters head to the polls Oct. 28.
Moe officially kicked off his election campaign with a crowd of supporters at a news event in Saskatoon Tuesday morning, while NDP Leader Carla Beck appeared in Regina for the first official stop of her party’s campaign.
Moe launched the Sask. Party’s bid for another majority government with a speech focused on the economy and affordability.
“A re-elected Saskatchewan Party government will make life more affordable by delivering the largest income tax reduction seen since 2008,” Moe told a crowd of supporters.
“We will do this by increasing the personal exemption, increasing the spousal exemption, increasing the child exemption and increasing the seniors supplement by $500 each year for the next four years.”
Moe also promised to increase the Saskatchewan low income tax credit by 20 per cent over the next four years. The credit is given quarterly to people who don’t earn enough money to pay income tax.
Sask. Party leader Scott Moe spoke in Saskatoon Tuesday morning shortly after the writ dropped, signalling the official beginning of the provincial election campaign. He promised to cut income tax in the province if re-elected.
“Today’s announcement, when fully implemented, benefits every person in the province of Saskatchewan, each and every Saskatchewan citizen,” Moe said.
“So that’s the first large and significant difference in this election. The NDP is promising a small temporary tax measure that excludes anyone who might not drive. The Saskatchewan Party will deliver a significant ongoing tax reduction for everyone.”
Moe was referencing Beck’s promise to suspend the provincial gas tax for six months, which she said would save the average resident up to $350 per month.
In August, the NDP launched its unofficial election campaign with promises also aimed at affordability. Beck’s plan includes a freeze on taxes across the board, including income tax, small business and corporate tax, and the provincial sales tax.
Sask. NDP Leader Carla Beck spoke to supporters Tuesday morning after the official start of the provincial election campaign. She talked about her party’s promise to cut taxes if elected.
In Regina on Tuesday morning, Beck took aim at the Sask. Party’s spending and economic policies.
“They’ve taken us from leaders to laggards on issue after issue. Saskatchewan is in last place in education, last place in health care, and second-last when it comes to the economy,” Beck said amid a crowd of supporters.
“In fact, Scott Moe has the distinction of being the only premier in the entire country to have shrunk the economy before, during and after the pandemic.”
Turning to her promise to freeze taxes, Beck said her plan is fully costed and the NDP will release the details during the campaign. She said the Sask. Party has failed to address the rising cost of living.
“Are you better off than you were six years ago? Scott Moe has refused to offer Saskatchewan families relief. He hiked power bills, jacked up fees and raised taxes while people in this province were already struggling,” Beck said.
“And he expanded the PST to include things like children’s clothing. Children’s clothing is not a luxury. But you know what is? His million dollar trip to Dubai.”
Polls predict tight race
As of August, there were seven registered political parties in the province, but only three held seats in the provincial legislature.
Entering the election, the governing Saskatchewan Party holds more than two-thirds of the 61 seats in the legislature (42), followed by the opposition Saskatchewan NDP (14). There are three Independent members — Speaker Randy Weekes, Ryan Domotor and Greg Lawrence — and one member of the Saskatchewan United Party, Nadine Wilson. There is one vacant seat.
However, multiple veteran MLAs from the Saskatchewan Party have announced their plans to either change banners or not run again.
Four MLAs who have held high-profile cabinet positions — Gordon Wyant, Donna Harpauer, Dustin Duncan and Don McMorris — announced their plans to not run again in their long-held seats earlier this year. Wyant’s former seat in Saskatoon Northwest is the one vacant seat in the legislature.
In a pre-election interview with CBC last week, Moe said when veteran ministers leave caucus, it’s a cause to pause, but immediately followed that to say it’s also an “opportunity for renewal” for the new candidates.
“They are going to have to work, and work hard, because they won’t have the recognition of being an incumbent — and I would say that they already are,” Moe said.
The Sask. Party holds a commanding position in the legislature, but a recent poll from the Angus Reid Institute suggests a recent drop in approval for Moe, to the lowest it’s been since early 2022.
“The poll that we pay attention to is coming up. It’s going to be on October the 28th,” Moe said.
“We’re going to be putting forward our value proposition to the people of Saskatchewan on what we think the next four years of this province can aspire to.”
Moe only sees one other party as competitive enough to form government, the Beck-led Saskatchewan NDP. It’s her first election as the leader of the party, compared with Moe who became party leader in 2018 and kept his party in power through the 2020 election.
The Sask. Party has won enough seats to be the governing party in every election since 2007.
“The thing that our candidates are hearing on the doorstep is, it’s time for change,” Beck said in an interview with CBC last week.
Recent polling from CTV News and Insightrix suggests the gap in decided voters has significantly narrowed from this time last year, with the NDP holding a narrow lead over the Sask. Party.
An Angus Reid poll from late August found that, overall, the Sask. Party held a seven-point advantage in voter intent over the NDP.
However, when not including the two largest urban centres (Regina and Saskatoon), the Sask. Party held a commanding 25-point lead in the poll.
“I grew up in rural Saskatchewan, most of my family still lives in rural Saskatchewan,” said Beck.
“I knew when I took on this leadership of the Saskatchewan NDP that we had a lot of work to do, not only in rural areas, but in many communities, many places that we simply hadn’t been present for too long.”
