Ken MacDougall is the NDP candidate for the Prince Albert area for the upcoming federal election. (Submitted photo/Ken MacDougall)

By Dawson Thompson

NDP Candidate

NDP names Ken MacDougall for Prince Albert candidate

Sep 2, 2021 | 5:44 PM

The New Democratic Party (NDP) recently named Muskoday resident Ken MacDougall as their candidate for the Prince Albert riding for the federal election later this month.

This is his first time running for the party he has supported for the past 35 years.

“I feel honored to run as a candidate,” MacDougall told paNOW. “I can’t believe that our democracy in our province has gone so downhill that we can’t stay on topic and stick to reality.”

His campaign will revolve around balancing the budget, rebuilding democracy, climate change, and Indigenous issues that the current government, in his opinion, has not been able to handle.

“As far as a lot of people are concerned is we have stopped talking together, politicians don’t talk together, they just simply hate, and that has to change,” MacDougall said. “That’s my primary focus. To try and get the candidates in a room, and debate issues, not just call each other names.”

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When talking about climate change, he added that many parties on the ‘right side’ of the spectrum, may actually not actually be friends of the rural community in the long run.

“You’re being strung along. We are in for a series of droughts if we do not deal with climate change,” he said.

One thing he has heard this summer from Northern Saskatchewan constituents is fixing and working on forestry management.

“We aren’t doing anything to re-forest the north,” MacDougall said. “As a province we seem to believe everything will turn out hunky-dory if we embrace the notion of exploiting our minerals and non-renewable resources, never mind the fact we have opportunities to pour money into research and development, and we just don’t do it. That is most of the complaints that I have heard.”

He feels the NDP would be the right party to lead Canada because of their ‘progressive’ policies.

“We are a party of progressive ideas, that when they are put on paper, they make enough sense to balance the budget,” MacDougall explained. “Stop believing the nonsense that the papers write about us, start looking at the policies and what they really mean for progressive Canadian economic and social development. We have brighter ideas.”

To him, a successful campaign will mean a win. If they don’t win, they want to take votes away from the Conservatives, and make the party feel some pressure.

“I would like to see them sweat a little,” MacDougall said. “If they are not beaten in the ballot box, they will be beaten by an influx of ideas that people will have.”

Canadians head to the polls two and half weeks from now on Sept. 20.

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Dawson.thompson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @dawsonthompson8