REGINA – Call it an early strike.
Saskatchewan voters likely won’t go to the polls until spring 2016, but the Opposition NDP are out with a new ad that shows it may be campaign mode now, according to analysts.
“It’s cast that way. It’s negative,” said Jim Farney, a University of Regina political scientist. “It may be the first run at it, but it sounds to me like an election ad.”
In the ad, NDP leader Cam Broten asks, “Where’s the money gone?” – referring to strong revenues in years since the Saskatchewan Party formed government in 2007 that he believes have gone to waste.
Farney said the NDP’s production may not have the same tone as other attack ads, such as a 2013 Saskatchewan Party advertisement that criticized Broten’s ties to previous leader, Dwain Lingenfelter.
However, Farney points out both ads have the same focus: money.
Premier Brad Wall had his own response to the NDP ad, pointing to debt repayment and investments in infrastructure.
“If the NDP want to have this debate about where the money went, we’re happy to have it,” Wall told reporters Wednesday. “We think it’s a strength of the government.”
The spring sitting begins on Monday and the big focus is expected to be on dollars and cents, with Wall saying the budget will show a “small surplus” despite falling resource revenues.
WATCH BELOW: Saskatchewan NDP’s latest ad asks where resource wealth has been spent
Broten wouldn’t say the ad, or the Saskatchewan NDP’s new logo, is a “soft-launch” of a campaign.
“I think this is a pattern of a government making bad choices, especially in the context of being given the record revenues we’ve seen.”
The next provincial election is scheduled for spring 2016 because of the federal election projected for fall 2015. There is speculation, however, that a federal vote could be called early – allowing for a Saskatchewan general election in the fall.
Farney said this may be the groundwork in case that happens.
“Campaigns now, people try to do a lot of the work before the writ is actually dropped. Especially now, because we don’t know for sure when.”
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