Sask. legislative debate sets tone for 2024 election
CBC
Saskatchewan's next provincial election is less than 600 days away, but the start of the 2023 spring legislative sitting saw the parties laying the groundwork for future platforms and attacks.
Opposition Leader Carla Beck spent the first few days of question period this week focusing on the government's economic record.
What followed was a defence by Premier Scott Moe and his cabinet.
The two sides argued over economic indicators, each accusing the other of being bad for the province's economy and fudging the stats to suit their argument.
The question of who Saskatchewan people feel can steer the province's economy may be central to the election in October 2024.
Evidence of pre-campaign campaigning can also be found in the parties' respective tag lines.
All week in the house, governing Saskatchewan Party MLAs and cabinet ministers were echoing the government's slogan of "growth that works for everyone."
On Monday, in response to a question from Opposition Leader Carla Beck calling the government's economic record the "worst in the country," Premier Scott Moe responded by saying the province was facing challenges.
"There are challenges that we are facing here in this province, challenges that we are facing across the nation, inflationary challenges among the highest of those."
Moe said the province's population is growing at "the fastest pace in a century" and the overall population is the highest it has ever been.
Beck used an oft-repeated phrase from the NDP caucus, referring to the government as "tired and out-of-touch,"
"What the people of this province don't need are more empty tag lines. What they need are more jobs and bigger paycheques," she said.
"More jobs and bigger paycheques" is the new slogan of choice for Beck and the NDP.
Not to be outdone, Moe's response included the government's catchphrase.