The third time's the charm for Ryan Meili. The Saskatoon Meewasin MLA is now the leader of the Saskatchewan NDP.
Meili received 5,973 votes in the party's leadership race. His competitor Trent Wotherspoon, the MLA for Regina Rosemont, received 4,860. The results were announced at a convention March 3.
“The people of Saskatchewan are ready for change and New Democrats are ready to lead,” he told the audience at the convention. “We're also a party of listeners. We're going to be out there, talking to everyone we can, hearing what's really on people's minds, their challenges, their problems.”
Meili had run for leader in 2009 and 2013. Wotherspoon had also run for leader in 2013.
The new leader of the opposition told the Review on a visit to Nipawin that reconnecting to rural areas like the Northeast was key to winning the next election.
He said that if he was elected premier, he would develop a water management strategy to deal with the more frequent wet years. He’d also develop a strategy to help farmers adapt to changes in climate and markets by expanding the use of rural extension centers, more focus on plant breeding research and developing new farming techniques, and supporting producers in reaching markets.
