NDP’s Ryan Meili looking to 2020 election and beyond

It may be almost a year away that voters in Saskatchewan will go to the polls, but NDP leader Ryan Meili is looking at the provincial election as one of his biggest challenges of 2020.

Meili is excited about the election and says that he believes people are starting to take a step back and re-think voting for the Sask. Party.

“The last three, four years there’s some substantial troubles that they haven’t addressed, and I think as a result there are a lot of people asking questions about where their vote will go this time and looking for a change,” said Meili.

The NDP have won the last three by-elections and Meili thinks the party is poised to grow, not just in the cities but in rural areas as well.

“There’s no question we’re the underdogs. We’re the upstarts that are fired up and full of vision but (the Sask. Party has) got all kinds of money and all kinds of MLAs and so there will be a challenge.”

Meili said the party is looking even further ahead than the next year.

“What we’re talking about in the next few months isn’t about the next election, it’s about the next generation,” he said. “Instead of just riding the boom and bust rollercoaster, are we actually going to try to invest in people in a way that makes us more resilient when prices are lower and more able to really grow in a way that brings everybody along when times are better?”

Looking a little more in the short term, Saskatchewan’s case against the carbon tax is set to be heard by the supreme court in March.

Meili said it will be a very important decision for the province and he’ll be interested to see what the supreme court says.

“Whatever happens with the court case, we need to make sure we’ve got a plan B so that if it’s not successful, which all indications are it won’t be, that we have something that’s going to work for Saskatchewan people,” said Meili.

The Province of Ontario’s case against the carbon tax is set to be heard the day after.