The day after a decisive victory in Saskatchewan’s 2020 provincial election, a re-elected Scott Moe was back in Regina at the legislative building to talk about what’s next.
In the coming days, putting together a new caucus, planning for a fall session and preparing for a speech from the throne will be top of mind, the premier-designate told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
Like so many across Saskatchewan, Moe said he is awaiting the results in ridings with high numbers of mail-in ballots, the count of which begins Wednesday.
Global News has declared six constituencies too close to call, including Regina University. There, cabinet minister Tina Beaudry-Mellor, who held portfolios in advanced education, status of women and innovation at dissolution, and NDP candidate Aleana Young were separated by a margin of 178 ballots after all of the polls reported. There were 1,814 applications for mail-in ballots in that riding.
“We want to bring our caucus together sooner rather than later,” Moe said.
Moe has served as the MLA of Rosthern-Shellbrook since 2011, winning again by 63.7 per cent of the vote on Monday night.
He took the reins of the Saskatchewan Party in 2018 after Brad Wall retired. The 2020 Saskatchewan election was his first as party leader.
Top of mind for Moe in his party’s fourth mandate is making decisions to protect “lives and livelihoods.”
The climbing number of coronavirus cases is concerning to the premier-designate, who noted he spoke with Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, on Tuesday morning.
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“We’re going to continue to manage our way through the pandemic,” said Moe, who still believes “that by following the public health orders, we can get those numbers back under control.”
The government has a lot of work ahead of it when it comes to managing health care and economic recovery, Moe said.
While Moe doesn’t think the province needs to revert to another widespread lockdown, he said coronavirus case counts are being monitored closely and he will be speaking with the chief medical health officer about further action if required.
With winter coming, Moe noted how gathering indoors versus outdoors has become more prevalent, and “does increase the opportunity for the spread of this virus.”
Many of the recent cases can be traced back to instances where public health orders were broken or pushed to the limit, Moe said.
“This is time for us to evaluate,” he said, emphasizing people need to be aware of their conduct, from mask wearing to hand hygiene. “We all know what the public health orders are”
As the pandemic wears on, Saskatchewan must prepare to position itself for economic recovery, the premier-designate said.
The province produces the foods, fertilizers and fuels that will be important to future global prosperity, said Moe, who again repeated the aim of having “a strong and independent Saskatchewan.”
However, that does not include separating from Canada, he confirmed.
Despite acknowledging some “shared objectives” with the separatism-promoting Buffalo Party, which finished in second place to Moe’s Saskatchewan Party in some races, a Saskatchewan Party government fully intends to operate within the constructs of Canada, the premier-designate said. Moe said the province has opportunities to assert its autonomy and in recent history, has been taking them. He cited the appointment of a Saskatchewan chief firearms officer to administer federal laws and the supreme court challenge of Ottawa’s carbon tax as examples.
Once the results of all the ridings are clearer, the governing party will work to deliver on campaign promises, Moe said, noting the first bill will be with respect to the home renovation tax credit.
“We’ll be getting back to work right away to earn your trust,” he said.