REGINA – Brad Wall says his Saskatchewan Party will “never, ever” take rural Saskatchewan for granted, even if all the election promises are being made in the cities.
“We’re going to work very hard to try to earn the chance to serve again in rural Saskatchewan and we’re grateful for the support in the past, but we assume nothing about future support, Wall said Tuesday in Regina.
The campaign officially kicked off March 8.
Since then, Wall and NDP Leader Cam Broten have largely bounced between Regina, Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert. They’ve each made a trip to La Ronge to try to woo northern voters.
Both the Saskatchewan Party and the NDP released their election platforms in Saskatoon.
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Agriculture didn’t even come up in the leaders’ debate March 23.
The only major announcement made outside a city was when Wall ventured about half an hour from Regina to say that the Saskatchewan Party will spend $70 million over three years to repair more highways if it wins the April 4 provincial election.
Wall says that’s because Regina and Saskatoon are the major media centres.
“We’re certainly trying to get everywhere, but we do begin the days where there are media centres in the province to try to get our message out,” said Wall.
The premier says he believes it’s an approach that many campaigns have taken in recent elections, including the Saskatchewan NDP.
The NDP say it also is not taking the rural vote for granted.
“We’ve got incredibly strong candidates all over the province and, while we often start the day in a city, Cam Broten has also visited many rural communities,” campaign spokesman George Soule said in an email. “For example, he enjoyed bannock burgers in La Ronge and took in some curling in Shell Lake.
“Brad Wall showed that he is taking rural Saskatchewan for granted when he refused to attend a rural health care town hall in Craik. During the forum, Cam Broten reannounced his commitment to fix rural access to health care and ambulance services.”
But Tom McIntosh, head of the Department of Politics at the University of Regina, doesn’t buy Wall’s explanation about the cities being where the reporters are.
“I think that’s a little disingenuous,” McIntosh said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
“Sorry, but if he wanted to travel to a small town and make an announcement, (reporters) would follow him because you want the coverage of him making the announcement and if you have to drive to wherever to do it, you guys will.”
McIntosh says he thinks the real reason is that rural Saskatchewan has become a stronghold for the Saskatchewan Party.
Wall and his party won 49 of the 58 seats in the Saskatchewan legislature in the 2011 election. The NDP was left with just nine seats. Those were in Regina, Saskatoon and the far north.
This time around, Saskatchewan residents will vote in 61 ridings; three were added after the electoral map was redrawn. Two of the new seats are in Saskatoon and one is in Regina.
“The battleground in this election is in urban Saskatchewan. Rural Saskatchewan is, I think, as I said, it’s a lock,” said McIntosh.