NDP still lacks candidates in more than half of ridings

Provincial leader is not worried although he expects early election

NDP Leader Ryan Meili predicted on Saturday that Premier Scott Moe might call an early election the day after his government tables its budget on March 18.

“He’s planning on starting an election on March 19. Everything looks like that’s what’s going to happen,” Meili said. “Let’s not pretend otherwise, and let’s not let him pretend otherwise.”

Meili said his party is prepared. “We’re ready to go,” he said in an address to the party’s provincial council this weekend. “We’re ready to do this, and I know you’re ready to do this.”

But are they? The Saskatchewan NDP has just 29 candidates nominated, down from 30 after veteran MLA Danielle Chartier announced

Wednesday that she won’t seek re-election.

That compares with 58 candidates for Moe’s Saskatchewan Party. There are 61 ridings in the province.

The remaining three are in seats the NDP won by comfortable margins in 2016. Saskatchewan Party executive director Patrick Bundrock said nomination meetings are scheduled in April and May.

“That puts us on track for a completed slate,” said Bundrock.

Despite the slower start, the NDP’S head organizer said he’s also confident the party can field a full slate even if the race comes early.

John Tzupa, the party’s provincial secretary, said constituency associations are moving more quickly to secure nomination dates in light of chatter of a spring election — and the premier’s refusal to commit to waiting until fall.

Constituency associations for Regina Pasqua, Saskatoon Nutana and Arm River will all hold nomination meetings between March 14 and 19, though Tzupa said those dates were set previously.

But he said more are on the way. Saskatoon Southeast members will choose their candidate on March 22.

“There’s lots more constituencies that are scheduling their nomination meetings,” said Tzupa. “Everything is moving along as it should.”

The party will go into the campaign down four incumbents, including Chartier in Saskatoon Riversdale. But Meili said the party is not worried about Riversdale, viewed as one of the NDP’S safest seats.

“It’s a seat where we have always worked hard to keep it, and will do so again,” Meili said last week. “But we feel very good about our chances there.”

On the plus side, Buckley Belanger announced last week that he will run again in Athabasca, putting an end to speculation about the longtime northern MLA’S plans. He is not yet officially nominated, however.

The NDP began running television advertisements highlighting Meili and criticizing the Saskatchewan Party at the beginning of March, though the timing was previously set, according to NDP caucus staff.

That comes after a new round of Saskatchewan Party ads targeting Meili and accusing him of being “not on our side.”

Those ads were paid for by the party, not the caucus. Bundrock said the Saskatchewan Party has more advertising buys planned “throughout the year.”

Neither party will release full information on their finances heading into the campaign. The Saskatchewan Party was in a better position as of the most recent financial returns to Elections Saskatchewan.

The Saskatchewan Party raised $2.7 million in 2018, including $1.7 million from individual donors. The NDP raised $1.3 million with $1.1 million from individual donations.

But Tzupa said recent numbers have been encouraging for his party. The NDP raised $114,000 through online fundraising in December, more than the Saskatchewan Party’s roughly $110,000.

“It was our best month for online fundraising,” said Tzupa.

Tzupa said December is one of the most important months in the calendar for fundraising. Though he would not discuss January and February numbers in detail, he said early election talk “has been a boost for fundraising” and for volunteers.

Bundrock pointed out that online fundraising is only a fraction of his party’s fundraising, though an increasingly important one.

He said “traditional methods of fundraising,” like letter campaigns, are still “incredibly important.”

The Saskatchewan Party also attracted about 330 people to its Premier’s Dinner fundraiser in Prince Albert on Friday, at $200 per seat.

Parties can spend up to about $1.1 million during a campaign period. A senior NDP source said last week that the party plans to spend to that limit.