SASKATOON – Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is signaling the start of the 2016 provincial election campaign after meeting with the lieutenant governor Tuesday morning.
The premier indicated on Twitter that he met with Vaughn Schofield, the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon. Schofield must dissolve the legislature for the election period to officially begin.
“It’s official. Just saw LG to start #skvotes,” read Wall’s tweet which was posted at roughly 10:30 a.m. CT Tuesday.
The tweet coincided with a media release from the Saskatchewan Party, detailing its plan argument to voters who will go to the polls on April 4.
“We will have a fiscally-responsible platform that builds on the successes that Saskatchewan has enjoyed over the past eight years,” said Wall in the release.
The premier had a week to start the election period and chose the last day to do so. On Monday, he told reporters that there was no advantage gained by the move.
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“The most important day, the day of the election, the day which people can either fire or hire a government, is set,” said Wall to reporters Monday.
Wall kicked off his campaign with the writ announcement in Saskatoon Tuesday afternoon. NDP Leader Cam Broten held a similar event Monday, however noted that his party has been in campaign mode for weeks already.
“I was travelling all over the province this weekend and people were raising the things that we’ve been talking about,” said Broten to reporters Monday after the event.
“We’ll be focused on making life more affordable for families, putting a bit more money in their pockets each month.”
Both the NDP and Sask Party focused on the economy during the first official day of the campaign. Broten spent his afternoon in Regina, where he rallied against the government’s use of public-private partnerships when pursuing certain infrastructure projects.
“First step is to cut the waste, spend in the smartest and most cost-effective way and be focused on things that actually support the economy,” said Broten, outside of the provincial legislature Tuesday.
In Saskatoon, Wall criticized the NDP government of a decade ago on taxes and job creation.
“Much of what they’re talking about today in their election campaign harkens back to those days,” he said to reporters after the event.