Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck made a string of announcements over the last week, signaling the start of the fall election campaign.
On Aug. 29, Beck promised not to increase taxes and to cut the provincial gas tax if elected. The gas tax cut is not news, but holding the line on all other taxes is a new pledge from the NDP.
When asked how she plans to pay for the tax freeze, Beck said, “by growing the Saskatchewan economy, leaning into that opportunity that we see right across this province by finding efficiencies and cutting the long list of Scott Moe’s waste and mismanagement.”
The NDP said it would soon release a fully costed platform that “balances the budget” within four years.
Premier Scott Moe responded on social media.
“That’s the same old NDP that raised taxes 21 times in 16 years in government, including the PST four times and the gas tax twice,” Moe wrote.
Moe also said the NDP “supports the carbon tax,” but Beck has said she does not support the federal policy.
Beck’s announcement came as the Saskatchewan government released its first-quarter financial report, which has the projected deficit for 2024-25 up to $354 million from the $273 projected in March.
Finance Minister Donna Harpauer pointed to increasing costs, including a new collective agreement for provincial workers.
NDP finance critic Trent Wotherspoon blamed government mismanagement.
“This is a government that has failed to stick to its own financial forecasts for the better part of a decade,” Wotherspoon said.
Although the election campaign has not officially kicked off, the Saskatchewan Party government has also been ramping up its media conferences and announcements in recent days. The election is expected to take place on Oct. 28.
Beck pledges $2B education boost, new school projects
Beck also made a trio of announcements regarding schools this week. On Tuesday in Saskatoon, she promised $2 billion in additional spending on K-12 education over four years if elected.
She said the government would hire hundreds of new teachers, educational assistants and support staff, and address concerns over class size and complexity including English as a second language. Again Beck promised to make it happen “within existing resources.”
In response, Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said, “the election campaign hasn’t even started and the NDP is already making billions of dollars of spending promises without explaining how they will pay for it. Today, they promised $2 billion in new spending without telling us where the money is coming from.”
Cockrill said the NDP would need to “nearly double education property taxes to pay for today’s commitment.”
In addition to the multi-billion dollar promise, Beck also committed to fast-tracking two new schools, one high school on Saskatoon’s eastside and one joint-use elementary school in Regina’s southwest.
On Wednesday, Beck was in White City, east of Regina, promising “shovels in the ground” by 2025 for a new high school in the community.
Cockrill again responded, saying “they are promising a new school, one that’s not even on the division’s top 3 priority list, while also promising to fast track it without explaining how that will be achieved.”
“It’s disappointing to see that as a former trustee, the Leader of the Opposition would prioritize new schools for political points as opposed to consulting with the local division to meet their needs.”
On Thursday, Beck said an NDP government would start a “healthy food school program” for public, separate and Francophone schools, at an initial cost of $10 million rising to $55.5 million annually by the fourth year. The NDP said it would work with the federal government to “bolster funding.”
“We want to ensure that every child here in Saskatchewan has the ability to thrive in school and that starts by ensuring that no child goes to school hungry,” Beck said.
Premier Scott Moe at a news conference on Aug. 28, announcing construction of the parkade at the Regina General Hospital was 80 per cent completed. (Alexander Quon/CBC)
The flurry of announcements was interrupted Wednesday by news from the federal NDP in Ottawa. Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party had ended its confidence and supply arrangement with the federal Liberals after two years.
Beck said she had been critical of the agreement in conversations with Singh.
“I say it’s about time. I hear every day from residents who are frustrated at the federal NDP for propping up the Liberal government, a government that has failed to deliver for Saskatchewan.”
Moe responded to the news via social media, taking the position that nothing had changed.
“Jagmeet Singh says that yesterday, he ripped up his agreement with Trudeau. But today, he seems to be taping it back together. He still will not vote against Trudeau in a confidence motion, which means he’s still keeping Trudeau in government.”
Baseball ad first of the campaign
Beck and the NDP launched their first video ad of the campaign this past weekend. In it, Beck takes swings in a batting cage.
The overall message of the 30-second spot is that “Saskatchewan deserves better” than the current government, without name-checking either Scott Moe or the Saskatchewan Party.
Last month, Premier Scott Moe released a pair of advertisements, one showing him in his hometown of Shellbrook talking to community members, and another standing in front of the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital focused on government projects and taking aim at the NDP’s record in government.