It was night two of six as the five Saskatchewan Party leadership candidates met in Melfort to debate policy, the economy, and support for the Quill Lakes.
Tina Beaudry-Mellor, Ken Cheveldayoff, Alanna Koch, Scott Moe and Gord Wyant will meet in six election debates over the next three months leading up to the Saskatchewan Party leadership election on Jan. 27, 2018.
No matter the topic for discussion, candidates kept it cordial. There were 10 member-chosen questions with 60 seconds each to respond.
Building a winning coalition
Wyant kicked off the Oct. 26 debate with speaking on what is needed in a leader. The most important thing is to maintain party unity so the Saskatchewan Party can defeat the Saskatchewan New Democrats in the 2020 election.
“We need a Saskatchewan Party leader who can keep the coalition strong, keep the tent open, and keep the base broad. That’s how we defeated the NDP in three consecutive elections.”
That same sentiment was echoed throughout the night, with many members touching on the importance of winning seats, especially in urban areas.
Beaudry-Mellor spoke during her closing remarks about urban voter turnouts in both the Saskatoon Fairview and Saskatoon Meewasin by-elections, saying that some of those voters are choosing to stay home. That momentum has to be turned around, she said.
“Some of that is maintaining those dual values of economic growth and quality of life issues that our party has been known for.”
Keeping the coalition of conservative and liberals that make up the party together was a question onto itself, with the importance of party identity coming up during the member questions.
The four Liberal and four Progressive Conservative MLAs who formed the Saskatchewan Party had a lot of courage, said Cheveldayoff, and that is what the party needs going forward.
“[The party needs] courage to make the difficult decisions but also in a way that’s welcoming to people across the political spectrum.”
Municipal infrastructure
The NDP government of 2003 is not something the Saskatchewan Party wants to see again, especially when it comes to municipal funding gaps, said Koch.
Record investments has made up for the infrastructure gap left by the NDP, she said, and that is something she is really proud of her party for accomplishing.
“This is a challenge for us to make sure we have adequate funds to invest in infrastructure but it’s key for the growth and prosperity of the province.”
Municipal funding gaps for infrastructure spending in small urban municipalities is a constant theme in regional Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) meetings, said Wyant. There are innovative ways of providing funding, he said, but that will take a working dialogue with SUMA, Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities and the federal government.
“Innovative ways of funding infrastructure is important and we need to continue to pursue that.”
Quill Lakes
Spending and decisions have to be made according to the candidates regarding the Quill Lakes water levels. And while the solutions have to be scientifically based, the province needs to act on a solution for the water levels.
Water management is creating challenges across the province and while it is not a unique issue, said Moe, it is a unique issue in the scope of the problem.
“I applaud the Quill Lakes Watershed committee for the effort that they’ve done in coming up with a number of projects that have been submitted and now it’s time for the Water Security Agency to wrap some science around those and make a science-based decision.”
Winning in urban and rural areas
In several closing remarks, candidates spoke of the importance of winning urban seats to win the 2020 election, especially with the NDP seats that have been won in the recent by-elections.
While the party may have deep rural roots with farms, towns and villages being the backbone of Saskatchewan, winning in Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw are going to be the key to a Saskatchewan Party win in the next election, said Cheveldayoff.
“We must be urban strong, we must work together,” he said during his closing remarks.
Speaking with reporters after the debate, she does not see the same split between urban and rural issues, said Koch,
“I see Saskatchewan people as the same. We’ve got the same values, the same things matter to us; families, jobs, strong economy, a great quality of life, and I really don’t see that difference.”
Energy East cancellation
While it was not a direct question, the loss of the Energy East Pipeline was a sore spot for the candidates during questions regarding economy and agriculture production transportation.
Freeing up rail lines and getting oil into pipelines was an important message for Moe, since Saskatchewan leads the country in agriculture exports, especially with the doubling in exports since 2007.
“We need those pipelines to be approved so we can free up our rail service and our rail capacity for the potash, grain, and agricultural products that we want to put on that rail.”
Beaudry-Mellor said that the loss of Energy East would have improved rail conditions for moving other commodities, however not all is lost with agricultural stakeholders not seeing this as an issue.
“You heard of their need for continuing research, that there’s institutional support in having competitiveness, we heard better communication and public trust, and the maximization of research funding.”
Leadership debates continue with the Saskatchewan Party convention debate in Saskatoon on Nov. 4.
High-ranking members’ thoughts
Two people that will be following the debates rather closely is James Thornsteinson, the party president and June Draude, one of the Saskatchewan Party’s founders.
The Quill Lakes are having an impact in the area and Thornsteinson said people in the audience were happy to hear that question asked.
“It was good for them to hear what each candidate had to say about it,” he said. “It affects people in this region specifically.”
Draude, the former MLA for Kelvington-Wadena, is excited to see the result of the election with five strong candidates ready to be put to task.
Twenty years later, the candidates are still dreaming the same dream that the party was founded on, said Draude.
“I look at these people and think they represent the depth and breadth of the province.”
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