ESTEVAN — The leader of the Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan will run in the Estevan-Big Muddy constituency in the 2024 provincial election.
Phil Zajac will carry the party's banner for the Oct. 28 vote. Zajac, who resides in Estevan, also ran for the party in Estevan in the 2020 election, finishing second with 1,713 votes, or a 24.26 per cent share. He had more votes than any other Buffalo Party candidate.
He was elected as the party's leader in March 2022 and acclaimed as the Estevan-Big Muddy candidate earlier this year. Zajac said that since he is the party's leader, and since he ran in Estevan four years ago, the party's board decided he should run in Estevan.
"I love this community, so I got into politics to help my friends that live here and to be a voice for the people of Estevan and the surrounding area," said Zajac in an interview with the Mercury and SaskToday.
Zajac said the Buffalo Party will continue to use coal-fired power generation by retrofitting units with carbon capture and storage technology, extending their lifespan by 30 years.
"We have a plan to create jobs for the province and for the Estevan area. Coal has been around for decades and built this city, so to say, and there's enough coal there for another 300 years," he said.
Zajac said the party has passed more than 100 policies in its two conventions. It would scrap the carbon tax, and it would "embolden" rural, small-town Saskatchewan hospitals by creating plans to encourage physicians to come and stay in rural communities.
"We have a fantastic idea of how we're going to get more Saskatchewan kids into medical school and into nursing. It's a brilliant plan and it will work. It just has to get put into effect," said Zajac.
When asked for specifics, he said they would be saved for the election.
The party is also continuing to push for an MRI scanner at St. Joseph's Hospital, and changes to the Workers' Compensation Board. Zajac also sees people are having a difficult time making ends meet, which he believes has been an ongoing issue for 15 years.
Zajac said he will be able to spend a lot of time in Estevan during the provincial election campaign, despite his commitments of being the party's leader. He and his supporters will knock on every door in the area, and when he's needed in other parts of the province, he will go
"There will be a huge focus on my time in Estevan because we need to win this seat," said Zajac. "We just have to do a really good job of letting people know what we can do and direct them to our policy and find out who we are. We're ready to go on the first day [after the election]."
He's not concerned about a vote split with the governing Saskatchewan Party and other parties in the province such as the Progressive Conservatives and the Saskatchewan United Party. Zajac said he believes that people should vote for the candidate who would do the best job, rather than for the party.
Prior to the 2020 provincial election, Zajac ran for the nomination for the federal Conservative Party in the 2015 Canadian election. He was also the candidate for the People's Party of Canada for the 2019 election, finishing fourth with 702 votes, which was 1.69 per cent support.
The Buffalo Party is currently in the process of vetting 25 candidates, which he said is a fairly lengthy process. They have eight candidates already selected, including Michelle Krieger in the Cannington riding.
