Moe calls election in Sask. for Oct. 26

Campaign of just 28 days shortest allowed

REGINA • Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has officially launched the campaign for the Oct. 26 provincial election.

Moe met with Lt- Gov. Russell Mirasty on Tuesday morning at Government House to ask him to dissolve the legislature.

“I guess it would be no secret what that meeting was about,” Moe said afterwards.

“I am looking forward to getting out and engaging with the people across this province and asking for their support.”

Saskatchewan was the only province that had a fixeddate election scheduled for this year.

But that was before the COVID - 19 pandemic hit and restrictions to keep it in check sent the global economy into a tailspin.

In March, despite the health crisis, Moe suggested he might call an election in the spring because he wanted a mandate from voters “sooner rather than later.”

But he stuck with the October date, and Elections Saskatchewan is working to hold the vote safely by increasing the number of polling locations and stocking up on face masks and sanitizer.

Moe’s Saskatchewan Party had 46 seats in the legislature at dissolution and the Opposition NDP had 13.

The Saskatchewan vote will be the third in the country during the pandemic. New Brunswickers went to the polls earlier this month and an election in British Columbia has been called for Oct. 24.

Moe has opted for the shortest possible campaign — 28 days, the minimum time allowed — before the fixed election date. Candidates have already been door-knocking for weeks.

The NDP has rolled out pre- campaign pledges that include $25-a-day child care and $100 rebate cheques for drivers. Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government has made a flurry of previously committed infrastructure spending announcements.

Moe is seeking a fourth term for the party and his first mandate from voters as premier. He got the top job after winning the party’s leadership in 2018, when premier Brad Wall decided to retire from politics.

Moe has said voters this year will have to consider which party they trust to revive the province’s economy. He said spending decisions will be tempered by the goal of eliminating the projected $2.1-billion deficit by 2024.

“Fiscal prudence is among one of the very hallmarks of this party and it’s always a goal,” he said in a pre- campaign interview.

NDP Leader Ryan Meili has said his party will be bold in the campaign and he hopes voters will see the New Democrats as an option for change.

“They haven’ t seen enough from us yet to know, and this is what a campaign is about.”