Meili hits the road to meet, greet NDP faithful across the province
NORTH BATTLEFORD In a suburban backyard in this community, Ryan Meili is surrounded by about 20 NDP supporters — most of whom are closer to being senior citizens than teenagers.
The newly-minted NDP Opposition leader is on a road trip, visiting with party faithful.
Talk is mostly small, with guests swapping tales about their careers and town happenings; although occasionally more worldly matters — like geo-politics — crop up.
Working the crowd, Meili mostly keeps his hands in his pockets, removing them only to shake hands. It’s clear he is still getting used to the new position, having assumed the role less than six months ago.
Despite his soft-spoken and friendly demeanour — at events like this, Meili keeps a smile throughout — by nature of his stature in the party, some supporters are clearly hesitant to approach and say hello.
Instead, they linger close by, waiting for the moment he will graciously turn to them and strike up a conversation, which usually starts with him asking a question. He is not a retail politician — the smile appears more genuine than forced, the interest in the people he is speaking with seems more real than manufactured.
On the backyard porch, Meili addresses the crowd, starting with thanks to his hosts and introduction of certain guests, like his caucus colleague, Saskatoon Fairview MLA Vicki Mowat.
Seamlessly, he transitions into discussing his history as a family doctor and how that work allowed him to travel around the province to cities near and far to this one.
It is more a fireside chat than a fire and brimstone speech. He makes eye contact with those in the small audience, but only briefly as his gaze casts down as he easily and freely formulates his words. Like many of his predecessors, he argues the economy needs to be working for everyone rather than a few.
He talks about his desire to bring in universal pharmacare and invest in education. It is part stump speech — some of these lines have been heard before.
The NDP leader ends by calling North Battleford “one of our strongest areas” and there is a “real opportunity” to send a message to the governing Saskatchewan Party in the next election that the province is ready for an NDP government.
He could be right: Len Taylor, a former provincial NDP minister, is in the crowd — he hasn’t run since losing in 2011, but still, he is here at the barbecue.
Despite an invitation to join Meili and other supporters as they walk in a parade later that evening, a handful of the crowd leaves after the speech, leaving about a dozen remaining.
The majority of the remaining crowd is sitting at a picnic table, having conversations about birds, local snow plowing issues, Sasktel and an ongoing protest in Regina, some 400 kilometres away.
Meili stands a few feet away, chatting with Taylor, until announcing his departure, saying his goodbyes and leaving for the parade.
Chatting during the short drive there, Meili says he tries to keep it casual by not preparing too much what he will say for such events.
That notion is reaffirmed minutes later when Meili greets a couple people — one he knows, one he doesn’t — like old friends by the staging area.
You watch Meili greet them equally like old friends.
Meili’s float for the parade is an old pickup truck with giant magnets of his face attached to the doors, and a humble array of orange balloons and streamers accompanying them.
He is standing in the truck’s bed, throwing handfuls of candy underhand to the children lining the parade route. Before long, one of his volunteers warns, “We’re not even halfway yet.”
Despite a handful of people occasionally yelling, “Yeah, Ryan!” or “We voted for you!” from the sidelines, Meili is clearly a bigger hit with the children retrieving the candy spilling from his hands than he is with their parents.