Saskatchewan's New Democrats have included the Battlefords as one of its locales for all-candidates forums for its upcoming leadership race.
The party announced ambitious plans to hold 14 all-candidates forums throughout the province in the run up to its March 9, 2013 leadership convention in Saskatoon.
The forums begin Nov. 17 at the Ramada Inn in Regina. Also confirmed are dates for forums in Humboldt (Nov. 22), Saskatoon (Nov. 24), Swift Current (Nov. 29) and Melfort (Dec.1).
The remaining forums will take place after the holiday break and the Battlefords will be included as one of those stops at that time, with other forums set for Rosetown, Weyburn, Yorkton, Prince Albert, Regina and Moose Jaw. Dates and times for those events are still to be announced.
The series of live forums will close with a forum in Saskatoon Saturday, Feb.16. Outside of the live debates, the party says it is in discussions with MBC Radio to host a forum on northern affairs issues, to be broadcast on its province-wide network of stations in February.
The series of debates was announced Sept. 4 as the NDP officially kicked off its leadership race.
In a news release issued Monday, leadership committee chair Deb Higgins said there are far more leadership forums in this race than in previous years.
"This is a far more ambitious schedule of all-candidates' forums than took place during the last provincial leadership race in 2009 or during the recent federal leadership race, " Higgins said in a statement.
"The number of forums is a testament both to the level of interest in this race amongst our supporters, and to our party's commitment to re-connecting with people in every region of our province."
The Battlefords had hosted one of the NDP all-candidates forums during the 2009 leadership race. The candidates in that race debated the issues and met supporters at the Western Development Museum, an event chaired by then-Battlefords MLA Len Taylor.
The 2009 leadership contest was ultimately won by Dwain Lingenfelter on the second ballot.
Apart from the election forum schedule, the NDP will be operating under similar rules to previous recent leadership votes, with party members once again voting directly for the leader.
Those interested in voting in the March 9, 2013 contest can sign up as party members up to six weeks prior to the balloting. All eligible members will receive a ballot in the mail and be given the option of voting in advance by mail, phone or on-line or voting in real time by phone or Internet March 9.
The leadership convention is scheduled for Saskatoon on that date, but members will be able to vote from across the province.
Potential candidates are now able to formally register in the race and be provided with access to the NDP membership list. While no candidates have officially declared their intentions, it is anticipated to be a competitive race with several likely candidates.
Speculation on potential candidates has centred on current MLAs Cam Broten, Trent Wotherspoon and Danielle Chartier, former leadership candidates Ryan Meili and Yens Pedersen and economist Erin Weir.
