Saskatchewan's NDP have spoken and they have selected Cam Broten as the man to lead them out of the political wilderness.
After a months long race, Broten barely edged out Saskatoon doctor Ryan Meili for the party's leadership. Broten won by a mere 44 votes, signifying that there was a large divide among the party faithful.
Broten, who has been one of the most vocal MLAs while in opposition, has two big jobs ahead of him. First off, he will need to bring his party together. As much as a leadership race is considered a time of renewal for a party, it is also a time people take sides behind their respective candidates.
Broten must convince those who supported Meili and what political observers considered an extreme left position, that he is the man to begin rebuilding what is left of Saskatchewan's NDP. The party took a big step towards that goal thanks to Meili himself, who graciously asked his supporters to get behind Broten.
While convincing the NDP to unite behind him is an important task, Broten must also get the rest of Saskatchewan's voters to unite behind him and the NDP.
For much of the past two to three years, the NDP has appeared rudderless. Further, many of their ideas seem out of touch with the direction in which our province is heading.
The Saskatchewan of now is a province of big ideas and big dreams. The NDP seems to be stuck in a Saskatchewan where we were afraid to strive for the best and take the risks to get there.
With some legitimate financial issues to bring up when the legislature opened last week, the NDP's big gotcha moment was exposing that the new hardwood in Brad Wall's office cost $22,000. Not withstanding how disingenuous this whole point was - after all, did Wall pick out the $22,000 hardwood himself or did the people who care for the legislature - it pointed to a party focused on crumbs, not one ready to take a big bite of the pie.
Broten needs to prove to Saskatchewan that the NDP is not an anachronism. He needs to prove that the NDP is capable of keeping the province on track to attain the success that many foresee.
The opposition NDP of the last six years has been weak and ineffectual and has shown no signs they are prepared to lead what is now a very different province than when they last held power.
Broten has to present a clear focus for the party. There are legitimate issues to be very concerned about, but their scattergun approach to opposition has failed to show residents what it is they should be most concerned with.
If Broten can do that and also demonstrate his vision for the future, the NDP could make some real gains under his watch. If he doesn't, he will be relegated to the political hinterlands along with what is left of his party.
