It has become apparent that, in this provincial election, there has not really been any big issue or variety of discontent to capitalize on. It is a contractual obligation election, one that exists because it's time to hold it, rather than because there's any real problems to dive into.
That's fine, and an indication of there not being any huge problems in the province but it has lead to some fairly silly moves by both parties in order to capture those last minute votes, in the absence of something grander to get people on side.
First was the Saskatchewan Party's promise to move the school year to after labor day. I remember as a student always being annoyed that school started when it did, with the two or three days before that first long weekend effectively being a wash as it was difficult to retain anything over those two days. Of course, when I was a student I was under 18 and thus unable to vote, so I'm not sure it's going to be an entirely successful attempt at bringing in more supporters. While I'm sure some parents are going to be delighted, some teachers will not be, so one wonders if any votes will be gained from the measure. It is the kind of announcement that can only exist in a fairly sedate election year, as it's really not that big a deal for many.
Not to be outdone on the relatively pointless front, the NDP has debuted their promise calculator, where people can see how much money they would save under their administration. It's a gimmick, and it's amusing enough to get someone to spend a few minutes at the party's site. However, it's not really something that would sway voters either way, since it's clearly pitched to the demographics that the party has been courting all year. There's nothing wrong with that, but unless you're in the same group the calculator is just going to show you don't actually get much savings after all. Answering the questions honestly, I have achieved more savings by changing my cell phone plan, hooray.
The fact that both of these measures were considered worth announcing - the NDP calculator was even called a "game changer" - is indicative of an election where neither party sees any huge problems that need to be tackled. Which isn't to say that over the next four years there won't be huge problems - ask anyone trying to rent an apartment in this city what it's like today, and imagine what it'll be like if more growth is seen. It's just that overall, both sides know that people are basically content, and they appear to have run out of things to get people to get people passionate about their party and out in decent numbers to vote.
I won't predict who is going to win this election, and I won't say who I'm voting for. But, I suspect that when the final numbers come down, the number of voters overall are going to be pretty low. There's just not much out there to get people excited about the election, and minor promises and oddball gimmicks are the signs of a campaign that is struggling to get people to get passionate and really driven about supporting their preferred candidate. In a way, this is a good thing, as the years when there aren't any elections contentment is better than major problems. But, in an election year, it tends to make the campaign a little silly.
