Meili set to lay out vision for province at NDP convention

The leader of the Saskatchewan NDP is expected to make the case for his party, which has struggled to gain support in rural areas and in the business community, just over a year before the next provincial election.

Ryan Meili’s keynote address to the party convention this weekend is likely to emphasize that education and health care are long-term investments rather than costs, and that the economy should work for everyone in the province.

Meili’s speech is also an opportunity to energize the nearly 300 delegates who plan to make the trip to Prince Albert this weekend, which the party’s chief executive says is critically important.

“Really, this weekend is a chance for lots of people to get together, to get excited, to work together, to learn and build and be off and running for the next year, for the provincial election,” John Tzupa said Thursday morning.

The NDP will be coming from behind when the next election is called. The party won 10 seats in the 2016 election, and subsequently added three more — including Meili’s — in by-elections in Saskatoon and Regina.

The Sask. Party, meanwhile, is targeting urban constituencies, traditionally thought to be safe territory for the NDP, which will begin the campaign without a trio of experienced urban MLAS — David Forbes, Warren Mccall and Cathy Sproule.

Asked whether the threat of losing seats in Saskatoon and Regina is real, Tzupa pointed to the party’s byelection wins in 2018, noting the party took three seats from the Sask. Party in urban centres.

The NDP is also under-resourced compared to the governing party, having collected about half as much in donations last year. However,

Tzupa said 2017 and 2018 were the first non-election years the party raised more than $1 million.

A likely bigger challenge for the NDP is how to connect with rural voters, which has long been identified as a problem — one that became clear when the party’s candidates were crushed in a trio of rural by-elections last spring.

The party has previously pledged to rebuild the shuttered Saskatchewan Transportation Co., and has pinned some of its hopes on nominating strong candidates who can share the party’s message over the coming 12 months.

That message is expected to include the party’s previously announced Renew Saskatchewan climate change and economic transformation plan, a $15 minimum wage and an emphasis on concerns about the province’s education system.

Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation president Patrick Maze is slated to speak at the convention about teachers’ concerns — including under-resourced classrooms — and the need to make change.