REGINA – It’s much quieter inside the doors than out, after a legislative session that was as much about carbon capture problems as it was political jousting.
Formal debate wrapped up at the Saskatchewan legislature Thursday with Premier Brad Wall and Opposition NDP leader Cam Broten trading shots over “change.”
Several times this week, Broten claimed voters “can’t trust” Wall, while the premier retorted with, “things have most assuredly changed.”
Whether the term refers to Wall’s approach over eight-plus years in office or the outlook of the province since 2007 depends on who you ask.
“All we know is the NDP is not the Sask. Party and I don’t know if that’s good enough at this point.” – political scientist Charles Smith
Ultimately, not much has changed over the last two months. But with an April 4 election date around the corner and new attack ads rolled out, the battle to shift Saskatchewan’s political scene is in full swing.
“I think we clearly showed shortcomings in the government’s approach and that’s the job as an opposition to do that,” Broten told reporters.
That effort has yet to move the needle when it comes to polling, however.
A mid-November Insightrix Research poll showed the Saskatchewan Party still commands support from 54 per cent of decided voters in the province – more than double the support for Broten’s NDP, which the premier is quick to point out.
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“He’s at 25 per cent in the polls, seven points lower than (former NDP leader Dwain) Lingenfelter was,” Wall said. “So they keep trying new things.”
Campaign getting closer
The picture may not be so rosy for Wall’s government either, particularly when facing a deficit in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
“That could get worse given the collapse in commodity prices,” said Charles Smith, a political scientist at St. Thomas More College in Saskatoon. “Those are the kind of things that no government, no matter how popular they are, wants to hear going into an election.”
Though, so far, the NDP haven’t unveiled much in the way of alternative policy, Smith notes, only pushing forward private members’ bills on a few specific policies.
“All we know is the NDP is not the Sask. Party and I don’t know if that’s good enough at this point.”
With four months before Saskatchewan voters go to the polls, it may not be long until the noise of the campaign begins.
WATCH BELOW: End of fall sitting sees both Sask. Party and NDP beat familiar drums
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