Sask. Party in better shape for snap election, U of R professor says

University of Regina political science professor Jim Farney says there are good reasons why Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe isn’t saying whether or not he will call an early election.

“You can see why it’s strategically or tactically good for the Sask. Party to do that. They’ve got more money. They’ve got candidates nominated in almost every riding now and the NDP’s only got half of them,” Farney told the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Tuesday.

“It’s easier to rev your own machine up and then play a game of chicken with the NDP.”

On Friday, the premier said he could call an election before its scheduled date in October due to unrest caused by rail blockades and the worldwide spread of the novel coronavirus.

He later said COVID-19 would not be a factor in his decision.

With the opening of the spring legislative session, Opposition NDP Leader Ryan Meili accused the premier of playing political games by not giving a straight answer on whether the election would be held before Oct. 26.

Farney noted NDP governments have acted similarly in the past. He says fixed election dates are a recent thing.

“It’s really in the last 15 years we’ve had these fixed election dates. The way our system works, you’ve always had to write those laws in a way that says the premier or the prime minister can call an election when he feels it or if he loses confidence,” he said.

In the long term, Farney says the NDP needs to find a way to break through in rural Saskatchewan.

But in the next election, whenever it is, he says the party just needs to pick up 18 to 20 seats, which would give it a boost in staff.

“They’ll have the people power to really … start serious fundraising,” Farney said. “If they keep bouncing around in the 10-, 12-, 15-seat (range) they have been for a long time, they just don’t have the people to really mount a viable challenge for government.”

— With files from The Canadian Press