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Moe and Beck face off in the Rotunda

Last night was the first and only time the two major political leaders will face off head-to-head in advance of voting.

Saskatchewan Party leader Scott Moe and NDP leader Carla Beck met in the Rotunda of the Saskatchewan Legislature to answer questions and compare and contrast their plans for the province.

(By the way…using the Rotunda at the Leg for a debate location was a stroke of genius. The set looked great).

The debate began with 2:00 minute opening remarks from both party leaders.

During the debate portion of the night, each candidate was given :45 seconds to give an initial answer to a question from the reporter panel, followed by three minutes of open debate. Both Moe and Beck seemed to have some difficulty adjusting to the :45 second answer limit, which seemed pretty quick even to viewers at home.

The questions of the debate focused on top issues for Saskatchewan voters. The first was all about health care, an issue that has consistently polled at the top of the list of voter concerns. The questions moved into affordability and education, followed by natural resources, rural Saskatchewan; and crime, specifically about the proposed Marshal Service. The debate ended with questions about addictions and debt management, specifically the cost of each party’s platform.

For the most part, the debate was civil between the two leaders and the format made for quick exchanges. There were few moments when the two talked over each other. Beck could sometimes be heard in background saying “not true” when Moe was delivering an answer.

From The SKoop’s perspective, there were no knockout blows delivered by either leader and no major mistakes or gaffes were made, with both Moe and Beck sticking mostly to the key messages of their campaigns so far.

For further coverage of the debate, read our next story!

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The Spin Room: How Each Party Responded to the Debate

The Saskatchewan Party and the NDP took full advantage of their social media channels during last night’s debate to highlight key moments and share their message.

The Spin Room: What Each Party Said

Throughout the debate the Saskatchewan Party was live-tweeting key messages including their message on affordability, and their record on job growth saying, “There is a new job being created in Saskatchewan every thirty minutes in Saskatchewan.” The party also posted that the NDP would make it easier to get drugs.

In media scrums afterwards, Moe said the winner of the debate was “the Saskatchewan people.”

The NDP and Carla Beck were quick to live-tweet video clips on social media highlighting exchanges on health care, and education, and posted afterwards saying, ”It’s official! Carla Beck won the debate.”

The NDP also sent an email after the debate saying, “Carla won tonight, now let’s finish the job.”

The Big Moments

The debate was civil and tight times on the clock restricted exchanges and made time go by quickly. One heated section was the discussion around education, with Ms. Beck discussing education and how “you cannot drive where you need to go if you keep looking in the rearview mirror, Mr. Moe.”

Another memorable moment was when Moe discussed his opposition to the federal carbon tax and took on the Prime Minister and Jagmeet Singh directly. Moe also said, “Under the NDP, there was a new job being created every 30 minutes for a Saskatchewan person…in Alberta.” The Saskatchewan Party was ready to go with a visual on social media.

Personal Attacks

The debate was relatively cordial and focused on the issues, but both leaders were able to land a few attacks on the other. One moment came when the two were debating crime and Beck said, “You can’t even control the crime in your own caucus”, referencing the incidents related to Ryan Domotor and Greg Lawrence, who were removed from the caucus. Randy Weekes was not mentioned during the debate.

Did the Debate Matter?

Both leaders were able to focus on their key messages without stumbling or landing a key knockout blow to the other side. The attention of the campaign now turns to voter turnout and mobilization in tight races that will determine the result.

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The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce has launched "Fueling Momentum 2024," a policy platform for the 2024 Provincial Election. Based on extensive consultations and research, it outlines key priorities from the Saskatchewan business community to inform all political parties.

Learn more here.

Sask. Party reiterates affordability as NDP focus on health care

It was a relatively quiet day on the campaign trail yesterday as both major party leaders were presumably in debate prep and, obviously, at the debate itself.

Saskatchewan Party leader Scott Moe took to social media early in the day to highlight his party's focus on affordability. He said, “We will reduce your income tax, saving a family of four $3400 over four years. We will increase the Graduate Retention Program up to $24,000, double the Active Families Benefit and create a permanent Home Renovation Tax Credit.”

The Saskatchewan Party wants the ballot question to be around who would be better at handling issues related to the economy and affordability.

NDP leader Carla Beck highlighted a sit-down interview they conducted with Kayla Deics, a woman who was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer earlier this year, and needed to get a screening in Alberta because the wait was too long in Saskatchewan.

Beck and the NDP want the ballot question to be focused on fixing the issues in healthcare in the province.

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A look at who will be on the ballot in Regina

Municipal elections will be held across the province on November 13. In the capital city of Regina, there will be high turnover at City Hall with at least six new councillors elected. Every Ward is contested by at least three candidates.

Mayor: 11 candidates are running for Mayor of Regina this year. Incumbent Mayor Sandra Masters will be challenged by councillor Lori Bresciani, as well as Chad Bachynski and Bill Pratt. Other candidates in the race are Bevann Fox, Bob Pearce, Kevin Kardash, Melina Bushenlonga, Nathaniel Hewton, Rod Williams, and Shawn Sparvier.

Ward 1: With no sitting councillor on the ballot, this Ward will see a race between Joanne Crofford, Dan Rashovich, Jessie Morris, and Talha Khan.

Ward 2: Incumbent councillor Bob Hawkins will be challenged by five other candidates. Anamul Akanda, Andre Magnan, Chidi Igwe, George Tsiklis, Sanket Patel, and Zaid Hameed will all be on the ballot.

Ward 3: The race is wide open with no incumbent in this Ward. David Froh, Barry Wilkie, and Faaiq Tanveer will contest this election.

Ward 4: There is also no sitting councillor running for re-election in this Ward. Balvir Bhathal, Charles Umeh, Deb Nyczai, Glen Geiger, Kofo Oni, and Mark Burton will be on the ballot this November.

Ward 5: This is another Ward with no incumbent councillor. Dharmesh Dave, Grant Jakubowski, Leticia Oystrick, Marianne Mucz, Sarah Turnbull, and Shifaan Shafi will contest this race.

Ward 6: This is another race with no sitting councillor. Corey Liebrecht, David Whitrow, Fawaz Adegoke, Glenn Douglas, Julian Levy, and Victoria Flores are all looking to become the next city councillor.

Ward 7: Incumbent councillor Terina Nelson is looking for another term. She will be challenged by Shobna Radons, John Gross, and Abdi Gure.

Ward 8: Sitting councillor Shanon Zachidniak is running for re-election against four other contenders. Shannon Orell-Bast, Mohammad Zafar, Cory Terry, and Alex Tkach have put their names forward.

Ward 9: Current councillor Jason Mancinelli is looking for another term at City Hall. He faces Jeff Soroka, Reid Hill, Saad Siddiqui, and Tanis Wilder in this election.

Ward 10: There is no incumbent in this race so voters will choose between Anita Adefuye, Chris Simmie, Clark Bezo, Jerry Flegel, and Umer Syed.

Learn more about the candidates here.

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Constituency Profile Series: Sponsored by Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA)

SUMA represents over 80% of Saskatchewan residents —cities, towns, villages, resort villages, and northern municipalities—that come together as one urban voice.

We’ve been here since 1905, advancing collective member interests with various government bodies, improving local governance, and fostering municipal growth. We are the urban hubs where you live, work, and play. We're where your children go to school, where you attend medical appointments at the clinic, and where you stop for coffee.

We are URBAN. To learn more visit www.suma.org.

Each week leading up to the 2024 election, The SKoop Political Briefing will highlight a constituency that has nominated a candidate from at least both major parties. Today, we look at Melfort. This rural riding has existed since the 1912 election and includes the population centres of Melfort, Watson, Leroy, Quill Lake, and more.

The incumbent: Todd Goudy was first elected MLA in in a 2018 by-election. He is a Baptist Minister and served on his local school division board for ten years.

The challenger: Melanie Dyck was born and raised in Rosetown. She has a Master's degree in English from the University of Saskatchewan and works for Intuit as a tax professional. 

The takeaway: This is a safe Saskatchewan Party seat. This riding has not elected a New Democrat since 1991. Melfort is home to one of the Saskatchewan Party founders, Rod Gantefoer. In 2020, Goudy won this riding with 77% of the vote.

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More news and info

• Trudeau tells inquiry some Conservative parliamentarians are involved in foreign interference (CBC News)

• Liberal backbencher calls on Justin Trudeau to resign as Liberal leader (CBC News)

• 🏠 7 in 10 Saskatchewan voters think housing should be a top priority for elected officials. That is why Saskatchewan’s Housing Leaders have launched Secure Homes, Strong Future­ – a housing policy blueprint for Saskatchewan ahead of the 2024 provincial election. Built on grassroots consultation and expert insight, this plan provides common sense ideas that will improve affordability, unlock development, lower construction costs and build more homes faster. Click here to learn more.*

• Seven bear spray incidents in Saskatoon include two on city buses (CJME News)

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2024 Election Candidate Tracker