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- 🗳 Trading cities
🗳 Trading cities
Day 25 of the provincial election campaign and Day 4 of voting, Moe in Moose Jaw, Beck in Prince Albert, the federal minister promises to make deals with cities around homelessness, a look at ad spending, and a closer look at Rosthern-Shellbrook.
October 25, 2024 | Advertise with us
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Good morning! Elections Saskatchewan says that 58,667 voters cast their ballots on Wednesday, the second day of voting week. There are now 119,406 votes cast total. We will keep letting you know the numbers as we head towards Election Day!
Here’s The SKoop for Friday, October 25:
Moe campaigns in Moose Jaw,
Beck campaigns in Prince Albert,
Federal government to make deals with cities to address homelessness,
A recap of ad spending in the final week of the campaign,
Broken window at campaign office in Regina leads to further questions, and
A closer look at the Rosthern-Shellbrook constituency.
Today’s Top Stories
Moe campaigns in Moose Jaw
Saskatchewan Party leader Scott Moe and local candidates. (Scott Moe/X)
Saskatchewan Party leader Scott Moe was in Moose Jaw on Thursday, campaigning in the province’s third-largest centre with only days until the final vote. Moe campaigned in Prince Albert on Wednesday.
Moe was joined by candidates Megan Patterson (Moose Jaw Wakamow), Tim McLeod (Moose Jaw North), Blaine McLeod (Lumsden-Morse), Barret Kropf (Dakota-Arm River), Daryl Harrison (Cannington), David Marit (Wood River), and Doug Steele (Cypress Hills).
Moe spoke to a full room of supports and said the choice for voters has never been more clear, saying, “You have the opportunity, we collectively have the opportunity to choose between the NDP and their record of decline, loss, and closures, or you can choose a strong economy and a bright future with this party - your party, the Saskatchewan Party.”
Moe highlighted how three-quarters of his party’s platform is dedicated to tax credits and affordability measures. Moe’s stump speech contrasted his record with the NDP’s government record. He said, “You have a choice between the Saskatchewan Party who want to give a hand up to those that may have slipped into a life of addictions by providing recovery opportunities in our province and our communities, and the NDP by vary contrast who simply want to hand out drugs in our communities.”
Moe is motivating voters to get out and vote, especially in Moose Jaw where both parties are looking to have wins.
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Beck campaigns in Prince Albert
Carla Beck and supporters in Prince Albert. (Jason Kerr/PA Daily Herald)
A day after Scott Moe was in the city, the province’s two main parties leaders traded places as NDP leader Carla Beck was in battleground Prince Albert on Thursday.
Flanked by candidates Carolyn Brost Strom (PA Carlton) and Nicole Rancourt (PA Northcote), the NDP leader was looking to motivate voters looking for change.
Beck gave a stump speech to supporters saying if they want change, they need to get out and vote for it. Beck reiterated her plan to remove the gas tax, remove the PST from children’s clothes, and get Saskatchewan ‘out of last place’ in health care. She also said that she would work with the federal government to ensure deals are made to provide services.
Prince Albert is looking like a close race, with both party leaders spending days here this week.
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Federal Housing Minister to negotiate deal with Regina and Saskatoon
A homeless encampment in the City of Regina.
In a statement released this week, federal Minister of Housing Sean Fraser said he had reached out to the Saskatchewan government to address homelessness. He said, “On September 18, 2024, I sent a letter to each province and territory asking them to partner with the federal government to urgently find shelter for those experiencing homelessness or living in encampments.”
In a statement to CTV News, a Saskatchewan Party spokesperson confirmed then-Minister of Social Services Gene Makowsky received the letter of offer, but thought it wouldn’t be appropriate to meet at the time, given the proximity to the election. Makowsky said, “Should we be re-elected, we would certainly be willing to have that discussion with the federal government.”
Fraser said the deal should not have come as a surprise, given that the $250 million was announced in the federal budget last spring. Fraser said, “We will no longer wait for them to muster the political will to act as winter gets closer and lives are put at risk.” The minister has now said that deals will be made directly with the cities of Regina and Saskatoon.
Immigration
The federal government also announced it will b ecutting immigration numbers.
The government had targeted bringing in 500,000 new permanent residents in both 2025 and 2026. Next year's target will instead be 395,000 new permanent residents, and that will fall to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027. The goal is also to reduce the proportion of temporary residents to 5% of the population over the next three years, down from 7.2% in July.
Support for immigration into Canada has dropped significantly in recent months.
The final week of campaign ad spending
The campaign has entered its final stretch and all parties are ramping up ad spending on Facebook and Instagram to motivate supporters to the polls.
The Saskatchewan Party spent $14,546 from October 15-21. The party is running 28 ads on social platforms contrasting their plan with that of the NDP.
An ad from the Saskatchewan Party.
Scott Moe’s personal social media had not run any ads this campaign, until this week. The leader is promoting early voting locations in his constituency. The estimated ad spend is less than $200.
The NDP is running ten digital ads, mostly videos we have described this week. The party is also running three different ads promoting Mark Thunderchild, their candidate in Moe’s riding of Rosthern-Shellbrook. The party has spent $28,161 from October 15-21 on Meta platforms. There are no ads on Carla Beck’s pages.
NDP ad running on social media.
The Saskatchewan United Party has no ads running on social media and has spent less than $100 in the past week.
CUPE Saskatchewan is running eleven digital ads and has spent $1,274 in the past week. The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour is currently not running any ads but has spent $2,898 in the last seven days.
With just four days until polls close, all parties will be ramping up efforts to get out the vote.
Broken campaign office window in Regina leaves questions
Campaign office of Saskatchewan Party candidate Rahul Singh.
Holes in the window of Saskatchewan Party candidate for Regina Northeast Rahul Singh have resulted in an ongoing police investigation.
Speaking on Tuesday morning in Prince Albert, Moe said the office of his Regina Northeast candidate, Rahul Singh, appeared to have had bullets shot into it, saying, "This is unprecedented for our province and unprecedented in a campaign." Saskatchewan Party communications put out a news release a short time later. Singh was quoted as calling it an "attack."
Regina Police later said, "At no time did our officers communicate the damage was a result of gunshots to anyone.” They refer to the incident as vandalism.
When asked why he described the vandalism as a ‘shooting’, Moe replied, “Because that’s what police said it was.”
Regina Police have since confirmed that an officer was at the campaign office the night prior to Moe’s remarks, but did not log his stop at the office and was not available for comment because he was off duty.
The story will continue to be updated as the investigation continues and can be read here.
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Saskatchewan Party leader Scott Moe and NDP candidate Mark Thunderchild.
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 Rosthern-Shellbrook. This urban riding includes the towns of Rosthern, Shellbrook, Hafford, Blaine Lake, and Spiritwood, as well as several villages and First Nations.
The incumbent: Scott Moe was first elected MLA in 2011 and as party leader and Premier leader in 2018. Moe was born and raised in the constituency on a grain farm between Shellbrook and Parkside. He and his wife Krista live in Shellbrook. Moe was educated at the University of Saskatchewan where he received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. He has been active in the community through his work with the Economic Development Corporation, the Shellbrook and District Health Services Project Inc., and the Shellbrook and District Physician Recruitment Committee. He has also volunteered his time to work with local hockey and softball associations.
The challenger: Mark Thunderchild is a husband, father, and a Canadian Indigenous person who grew up in Cree, Inuk, Dene, and Metis cultures. He loves to hunt and compete in First Nations games. He also coaches First Nations youths and their communities, helping his friends and cousins raise community-orientated children. This is Mark’s first book, and he plans to create an entire series of books celebrating modern Indigenous culture. Mark lives in Warman, Saskatchewan, with his spouse (who is also his illustrator) and their children. Mark is from Thunderchild First Nation, which is in the Treaty 6 Territory.
The takeaway: This is a safe Sask. Party seat. Mr. Moe won this riding with 79% of the vote in 2020. As the incumbent Premier and longtime MLA, Moe is expected to easily win this riding.
More news and info
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Alberta's squeeze on renewable energy has pushed investment to other provinces (CBC Calgary)
Bank of Canada delivers jumbo 50 basis point interest rate cut, celebrating inflation ‘now back to target’ (Yahoo Finance)
Saskatchewan health care system a central topic in next week’s election as workers say it is ‘barely surviving’ (The Globe and Mail)
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