New Brunswick and British Columbia Vote for Change: Implications for Saskatchewan’s Election

October 23, 2024 TruthUSA

The New Brunswick election saw the governing Conservatives trading places with the Liberal Opposition. In B.C., the governing NDP lost its majority government and it’s still unknown who will form the next government.

It remains to be seen what will happen in Saskatchewan’s Oct. 28 election.

In B.C., polls indicate it was kitchen-table issues and health care that were top of mind for voters, while public pressure ahead of the Oct. 19 election had led to reversal on some governmental social policy items such as drug decriminalization. Even incumbent NDP Premier David Eby said the rise of the Conservatives spoke to the “frustrations of a lot of British Columbians” on such issues as affordability and public safety, and he is vowing to “do better.”

Similar affordability concerns were present in the New Brunswick election as well, along with a focus on avoiding debt from both leading parties. Winning Liberal Leader Susan Holt’s first comments on her upcoming tenure as premier was noticeably about fiscal responsibility, making a commitment to deliver balanced budgets and to “watch the bottom line,” even as ahead of the election campaign her party had been distinctly vocal against the Progressive Conservative government’s school pronoun policies. Incumbent New Brunswick Premier and PC Leader Blaine Higgs led a low-key campaign and lost his own seat in the Oct. 21 election. The election campaign also saw a clear divide between English and French voters, as francophones threw their support behind Holt’s Liberals.

Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe (L) and Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck look on before a televised leaders’ debate in Regina, on Oct. 16, 2024. (The Canadian Press/Heywood Yu) — Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe (L) and Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck look on before a televised leaders’ debate in Regina, on Oct. 16, 2024. The Canadian Press/Heywood Yu

In Saskatchewan, many of the same cost-of-living and health-care issues as in the other two provinces are getting attention, while similarly some federal politics dynamics are also at play.

Royal Roads University associate professor David Black told The Epoch Times that in the case of B.C., the provincial Conservatives were buoyed by the popularity of the national Conservative brand.

“They have been elevated very clearly by what’s happening federally,” he said in an interview.

In Saskatchewan, where the incumbent Saskatchewan Party has been in power since 2007, leader Scott Moe has focused on building a reputation of standing up to Ottawa, including when his government stopped collecting carbon taxes on home heating last January. The two-term premier is vying for a third term after being sworn in six years ago.

Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan NDP has also made efforts to show itself as a party that will stand up to Ottawa for the province’s benefit, and has opposed the federal carbon tax. Leader Carla Beck is emphasizing to voters that it’s time for change, hoping to bring her party back to power after 17 years. The province is divided politically along rural and urban areas, with the former mainly supporting the Saskatchewan Party and the latter backing the NDP.

Simon Fraser University senior lecturer Sanjay Jeram says voters sometimes look at what’s happening around them and simply want change, spelling trouble for the incumbent.

“I don’t think people really know what the solution to their problems is,“ he said in an interview. ”They just want something different when they feel frustrated, which usually happens after a period of time when there’s one government and there are always problems. The perception of reality is never that ‘things are great.’”

New Brunswick Liberal Party Leader Susan Holt, holds the door for volunteers leaving her headquarters to knock on doors in her riding in Fredericton, N.B., on Oct. 19, 2024. (The Canadian Press/Darren Calabrese) — New Brunswick Liberal Party Leader Susan Holt, holds the door for volunteers leaving her headquarters to knock on doors in her riding in Fredericton, N.B., on Oct. 19, 2024. The Canadian Press/Darren Calabrese

But fatigue with the status quo is just one of the elements in the Saskatchewan election, with a number of other issues at play, including proposed policies on key issues, party record, as well as how federal politics may influence the fortunes of provincial parties.

“Sometimes what happens federally really does matter, and there’s a kind of synchronicity, there’s a kind of affinity. And sometimes, as we see in New Brunswick, I think there is just a lot of dissatisfaction,” Black says.

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