Ryan Meili resigns as Sask. NDP leader, will stay on as MLA
The leader of the Saskatchewan NDP says he’s resigning because it has become difficult for people to separate him from his demands for tougher COVID-19 measures.
Ryan Meili, who renewed his medical licence to help on the front lines, has delivered a caucus message the past two years that focused heavily on stricter public health rules and sometimes lockdowns.
He compares himself to a Pelaton bike - an exercise machine owned by a company that has faced declining stocks as the pandemic progressed.
“At the beginning (of the pandemic), everyone wanted the indoor exercise bike. That was the thing. And now nobody wants one. I get it. People want to move on from this time,” Meili said Friday from his office in Saskatoon. “As someone who has become so associated with masks, with mandates, with calling for the tough things that needed to be done, it’s going to be very difficult to no longer be associated with that at a time when people are looking for something new.”
Meili said he will remain in caucus as member of the legislature for SaskatoonMeewasin for at least one more session before deciding whether he will stay in politics.
He and his caucus have decided it would be best for him to continue as leader until a replacement is selected in a leadership race. That person will be the NDP’s fourth leader since Lorne Calvert retired in 2008.
Meili was first elected leader of the Opposition in 2018, but failed in his goal of substantially expanding the NDP seat count in the October 2020 election.
The party’s 13 seats in the legislature were reduced by one this week when a longheld stronghold went to the governing party in a byelection. It was the first time the northern constituency of Athabasca went to the Saskatchewan Party.
“The leader of the Opposition has continuously tried to communicate, and has not resonated with Saskatchewan people, and more recently not resonating with people in the Athabasca byelection,” Premier Scott Moe said Friday.