Abortion debate could affect leaders’ race
Wall’s ability to keep issue under wraps could have been key factor in urban seats
In this weekly series, Leader-Post reporter D.C. Fraser and StarPhoenix reporter Alex MacPherson round up everything happening on the campaign trail as candidates compete to be the next leader of the Saskatchewan Party and the Saskatchewan NDP.
The first contested race for the Saskatchewan Party leadership in a generation has exploded into controversy, one that has exposed a long-hidden divide running through the party formed 20 years ago by four Liberals and four Progressive Conservatives.
On one side of the gulf are the pro-choice politicians; on the other, those that hold pro-life views. Outgoing Premier Brad Wall has for the last decade avoided allowing any public discussion of new legislation aimed at tweaking abortion rules.
That changed last week when three of the candidates vying to replace him made pro-life statements in interviews published by Right Now, a group that campaigns on behalf of pro-life politicians with the aim of seeing Canada’s abortion legislation tightened.
Ken Cheveldayoff and Scott Moe backtracked on Thursday, promising not to introduce any new legislation if elected to lead the party. Late entrant Rob Clarke did not, and instead told the Regina Leader-Post he would be open to using the notwithstanding clause if necessary.
This is significant for a few reasons. It is the first significant issue to divide the leadership candidates into two camps — Tina Beaudry-Mellor, Alanna Koch and Gord Wyant have all said they are pro-choice. If it comes up at the party-run debate this week — and it should given the attention the issue has garnered — it is sure to create real tension.
The issue could, bizarrely, have a real effect on which candidate wins the race. Social conservatives have proven they can mobilize and win races. Look no farther than Andrew Scheer’s victory in the Conservative Party of Canada leadership race for an example.
It is too early to say where those votes would go but — at least for now — few are taking Clarke’s campaign seriously, in part because he joined the race so late and partly because he has not demonstrated an ability to fully explain his policies. Asked about his comment that he would use the notwithstanding clause — which allows provinces to temporarily override the constitution — on pro-life issues, he replied: “You can’t prevent someone from making their own choice.” He has also floated some strange ideas, like diversifying the economy by using northern trees to make fence posts.
Because Clarke’s camp will likely struggle to find success, hard-line pro-lifers are more likely to cast their votes for Cheveldayoff or Moe. However, those candidates’ attempts to temper their comments could cost them in the long run if the party’s pro-life wing deems them not sufficiently serious about the issue.
The issue drove a wedge into the group of 22 MLAs supporting Moe — many of whom are pro-choice politicians — but it seems that cooler heads prevailed by the end of the week, with broad agreement that a united big-tent front is better than losing on a single issue.
Finally, the possibility of the race hinging on abortion rights has deeply alarmed the pro-life camps. Party insiders are concerned that it could affect the Sask. Party in the 2020 general election, while others like Tina Beaudry-Mellor simply said: “We are not going back.”
The Sask. Party’s ability to keep the pro-life debate under wraps is, arguably, part of the reason it made up ground in the province’s two major cities. For a party concerned about preserving its gains in urban seats, ceding ideological ground to the NDP could prove costly.
All of this comes as the race enters its final phase. The party’s next leader won’t be chosen until late January but the deadline to sign up new members is Dec. 8, meaning the candidates have two weeks to sign up the members they need to win.
On the Saskatchewan NDP front, Trent Wotherspoon was quick to capitalize on the abortion issue by releasing a plan to boost access to reproductive services, including more funding for local organizations, free contraception and protest-free zones around hospitals.
Ryan Meili had a much quieter week. His camp hasn’t put out a news release in almost two weeks — though he spent much of October and November furiously releasing platform planks on health, education and a range of other subjects.
The Saskatchewan Liberal party, which lost its last remaining seats in the Legislature in the 2003 general election, announced last week that it would elect a new leader to replace interim leader Tara Jijian at a convention in May.