Saskatchewan is prime NDP ground, Mulcair says
Party leader confident of winning ‘majority’ of seats in 2015 election
SASKATOON NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says he’s “confident” his party will win the “majority” of Saskatchewan’s 14 seats in 2015 despite being shut out of the party’s birthplace for four straight elections.
“Saskatchewan is the birthplace of the CCF/NDP and if we have a lot of new trees with very shallow roots in Quebec, here we’ve got our deepest roots but no more trees,” he said Monday, noting gerrymandered “rurban” ridings are to blame.
“Even though we were getting 35 per cent of the votes, we were getting zero seats, which in a democracy is, of course, nonsense.”
A recent redrawing of the electoral boundaries to ensure left-leaning urban enclaves in Saskatchewan aren’t lumped together with larger, more Conservative rural areas is expected to “correct (this) extraordinary, blatant injustice,” he argued.
Thus it was no coincidence that the party chose Saskatoon for its fall strategy session, taking place this week ahead of Parliament’s return.
The visit also proved an opportunity to capitalize on a budding relationship with an unlikely new ally, conservative Premier Brad Wall, who in recent months has voiced his support for Senate abolition — an NDP policy plank for decades.
The pair met face-to-face for the first time in Regina on Monday, seven months after a war of words erupted over comments Mulcair made about the so-called “Dutch disease” — his contention that the oilsands are to blame for inflating the Canadian dollar and killing manufacturing jobs in Ontario. Wall also accused Mulcair of betraying Canada’s interests when he travelled to Washington to denounce the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
That said, both emerged from the meeting feeling positive about their encounter. While they agreed to disagree on Keystone and Dutch disease — Wall even gave Mulcair a copy of a recent University of Calgary study that refutes the NDP leader’s claims about the manufacturing sector — they were in agreement on other things.
Senate abolition was an “easy one,” Mulcair said, adding they also found common ground on broad economic concepts.
Wall said Mulcair seemed to understand the harm oil price differentials can cause producing provinces and was encouraged by the fact Mulcair isn’t ideologically opposed to public-private partnerships.
“We agreed on a number of issues. We disagreed on a number of issues but I appreciate the fact he wanted to meet to talk about them,” Wall said.
‘Saskatchewan is the birthplace of the CCF/ NDP and if we have a lot of new trees with very shallow roots in Quebec, here we’ve got our deepest roots but no more trees.’ TOM MULCAIR NDP leader
As for Mulcair’s optimism vis-a-vis the NDP’s prospects in Saskatchewan in 2015, Wall argued the provincial “NDP brand” has yet to recover and that could impact the party’s prospects at the federal level.
The federal Conservatives also dismissed Mulcair’s bravado: “I think Mr. Mulcair is probably making use of some of Justin Trudeau’s decriminalized marijuana if he thinks he’s going to get the majority of seats in Saskatchewan,” said Gerry Ritz, Harper’s regional minister for Saskatchewan.
Fairly quiet during the summer, New Democrats say their strategy is one of returning to the grassroots to speak directly with the voters they’re trying to win over.
Besides local fundraising, membership drives and barbecue meet-and-greets, senior critics have explicitly targeted ridings not currently held by the party. Others have taken on entire regions in a bid to assess area concerns, develop policy and ultimately shore up support ahead of the next election.
Manitoba MP Niki Ashton has taken on the Prairies, shopping around her Lethbridge Declaration — an attempt to develop a comprehensive “vision” for the Prairies through consultation.
A project still in its infancy, the plan is to take stock of the ridings in the area and which party holds them, identify key regional issues related to the environment, the border, transportation and infrastructure and to start building relationships with stakeholders like area mayors and community groups.