Canada Election: Regina-Lewvan federal candidates discuss platform, issues

With the 2021 Canada election taking place on Monday, candidates are out door-knocking in full force.

One vote projection on 338Canada for the riding of Regina-Lewvan shows the NDP and Conservatives neck and neck.

The riding of Regina-Lewvan is essentially Regina’s west side. It encompasses all of Regina west of Albert Street and south of Victoria Avenue, plus everything west of Pasqua Street/Lewvan Drive that is north of Victoria Avenue.

The riding is one of Regina’s two entirely urban ridings, along with Regina-Wascana.

Incumbent Warren Steinley says his focus remains solely on vying for votes, despite what any poll projections may indicate.

“I think all elections all close and whoever puts their name on the ballot has a chance to win, but with our team, we’ve really reached out and talked to our supporters and with everyone within Regina-Lewvan and we are happy that we’re maintaining our support from 2019,” Steinley said.

He adds that Conservatives will work to create a stable economy to help people financially recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, an election promise he believes has helped draw more attention to their platform.

“It’s always going to be a fight in urban ridings. NDP have been strong in Regina for a long time, but we’re actually seeing our support maintained and grow in some areas, especially in Harbour Landing from the last election,” Steinley said.

“So, we’re going to be working hard until election day,” he said.

Steinley goes on to say he has been a strong proponent of seeing pipelines and steel manufactured within the province.

He notes that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh “celebrated” when the Keystone XL pipeline was cancelled by American President Joe Biden.

“That put a lot of people out of work and slowed down the Evraz steel plant, so there’s some wedge issues like that where the NDP have been really weak in standing up for Saskatchewan,” Steinley said.

NDP candidate Tria Donaldson is aiming for an upset in the riding.

“The biggest thing is having those conversations on the doorstep and the phones with the issues that matter to them and then making sure people get out and vote, it’s going to be a very important election based on turnout,” Donaldson said.

“So I think it’s just a matter of whose supporters come out and vote,” she adds.

Donaldson says the NDP is offering a drastically different COVID-19 recovery plan than the Conservatives.

“I think the NDP is the party with the best plan to move us forward from the pandemic that’s going to help everyday people and the only party with a plan to generate revenue by taxing the wealthy,” Donaldson said.

“I think a lot of people are concerned about tax fairness and want to see the rich pay their fair share, and I think we’re the only party talking about that,” she goes on to say.

Donaldson says one of the main reasons why she’s running is because Canada is running out of time to take action when it comes to the climate crisis, and she, along with the NDP, maintain that the Conservatives’ plan will take the country “backwards” instead of protecting the environment.

“I think a lot of people have also been disappointed with Warren Steinley’s voting record, whether that’s things like conversion therapy, women’s rights to choose, or climate change,” she said.

Liberal candidate Susan Cameron is seeing this election run as a three-way race.

Cameron says from what’s she hearing on doorsteps, the trajectory of votes is similar what occurred in the 2015 election, when there was a three-way race between the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP.

“The fact of the matter is, regardless of what happens on Sept. 20, an NDP elected in this riding will not be sitting in the national government,” Cameron states.

Cameron says while she’s out campaigning, she’s hearing a “need for strong leadership” as COVID-19 numbers in Regina continue to climb, in conjunction with ICUs and hospital staff feeling the strain.

“Regina people are looking for leadership from the government, federally and provincially and Justin Trudeau is there for Saskatchewan, and Regina,” she said.

She adds that federal mandates on vaccines and investments on vaccines will help bring COVID numbers back down and protect Canadians from further harm.

Green candidate Michael Wright says he’s running to remind people they have options.

“We’re emphasizing that we’re the most progressive option in this riding, so if people are interested in pressuring the existing parties and the government to take a more progressive option on for say example climate change, they should choose us,” Wright said.

“We’re the only party that is standing against the twinning and expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, every other candidate in the forum here has endorsed the twinning of it,” he said.

This will be the third federal election to include Regina Lewvan. The new riding boundaries were established in 2012, using the Regina portions of the old Palliser and Regina-Lumsden-Lake Centre ridings. Both were represented by Conservatives.

For more information on voting, visit elections.ca.