By Jeff Labine

Sask ‘prime battleground’: NDP leadership candidates

Jul 12, 2017 | 5:00 PM

Federal New Democrat leadership candidates believe there’s a chance the party can come back home to Saskatchewan.

The four candidates vying to replace outgoing party leader Tom Mulcair met in Saskatoon for their fifth debate, the only one scheduled in Saskatchewan before NDP members head to vote in October. Candidates Guy Caron, Jagmeet Singh, Niki Ashton and Charlie Angus spoke on a number of topics from Indigenous rights to handling premiers who oppose a federal carbon tax.

Early on in the debate, the candidates highlighted the role Saskatchewan played as the birthplace of the party. Despite being the home province of the NDP, Saskatchewan voters have leaned conservative.

Angus, an MP in Northern Ontario, said he believes the NDP has enormous potential in Saskatchewan.

“These are our roots and we have strong and young organizers on the ground. This is going to be a prime battleground for us,” he said. “Being in the coffee shops over the last few days and listening to people who are deeply concerned about (Premier) Brad Wall’s cutting bus services in rural regions and shut down schools and that, I think people are looking for a vision that is about investing in people and diversifying and building a new prairie economy.”

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Ashton, the only candidate from the prairies, also took shots at Premier Brad Wall by criticizing the number of cuts in the last provincial budget including funding cuts to libraries, which were later reversed, and scrapping the STC.

“It is clear to me people have had enough of Brad Wall’s policies, which are not in the best interest of the people of Saskatchewan,” she said.

Provincially, the NDP has seen a lot more success with B.C. and Alberta both being led by New Democrat governments. In Saskatchewan, a recent Angus Reid Institution polls showed support for the provincial NDP increasing, although the vast majority still favoured the SaskParty.

Caron, an MP based in Quebec, said the NDP has always been able to connect with people in the Prairies and believes it could be an easy switch for Conservative voters.

“People are looking for options that would really work for them and those options are very different than East of the country,” he said. “I do believe there’s a bright future here for the NDP.”

Candidates in favour of equalization program

While it wasn’t brought up during the debate, the candidates weighed in on the issue of federal equalization payments. The program started back in the 1950s as a means to support provinces with weaker economies.

Wall on his Facebook page last year pointed out over the lifetime of the program Saskatchewan has only received roughly two per cent of equalization payments while Quebec received the most at 50 per cent followed by Manitoba and Nova Scotia at 11 per cent each. He would later post that Saskatchewan hasn’t received any contribution from the program since 2007.

Although the province will be receiving $1.6 billion through federal transfers, there won’t be any equalization payments coming as Saskatchewan is considered a “have” province.

Both Angus and Caron said they would be open to discussing how the equalization program is running but wouldn’t commit to anything beyond that. Ashton said she supports the program but stressed the need for a federal government that builds job opportunities.

Singh was unavailable for comment for this story.

Jeff.labine@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @labinereporter