Regina Northeast byelection 'more important than most' says political scientist

A Regina political scientist says the stakes for Wednesday's provincial byelection in Regina Northeast are a little bit higher than others.

"This one is more important than most … because it's the type of riding the NDP needs to win," said Jim Farney, the department head of politics and international studies at the University of Regina.

"If the Sask. Party is going to continue its dominance, it needs to win these kind of outer edge of Regina and Saskatoon ridings. That's really what this battleground is about," he said. 

It will be the first byelection in Regina or Saskatoon for the governing Saskatchewan Party under Premier Scott Moe and for the Opposition NDP under leader Ryan Meili.

The Saskatchewan Party held on to three seats by sweeping byelections in March in Kindersley, Melfort and Swift Current.

The NDP won back-to-back byelections in Saskatoon in 2017 — seats previously held by the Saskatchewan Party.

"Byelections are usually rough approximations of what people are feeling like," Farney said.

The two major party candidates vying to fill the vacancy left by former finance minister Kevin Doherty, who left politics for the private sector back in March, are Gary Grewal of the Saskatchewan Party and Yens Pedersen of the NDP.

When it comes to feedback on the doorstep, Grewal has mentioned his opposition to the federally imposed carbon tax. Pedersen said the issue he's heard about the most from voters is cuts to education and health care.

Farney said both of those candidates present distinct positions and are consistent with recent party messaging.

There are four other candidates running in the byelection:

• Ken Grey for the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan.
• Reid Hill for the Saskatchewan Liberal Party.
• Mark Regel for the Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan.
• Jessica Schroeder for the Saskatchewan Green Party.

Historically an NDP seat

The Regina Northeast constituency has typically been a safe seat for the NDP.  The party has held the seat for 40 of 50 years.

The NDP held the seat, established in 1967, from inception until 1982, when it was taken by the Progressive Conservatives.

The NDP was victorious in 1985 and held on to the seat until 2011.

Doherty won the seat for the Saskatchewan Party by 1,400 votes in 2011 and 1,000 votes in 2016.

Pedersen, a Regina lawyer, ran unsuccessfully in the general elections in 2007 and 2011 in Regina South.

He is hoping the third time is the charm.

"A success for me would be a strong message back to the Saskatchewan Party government that the voters in Northeast are not happy with the direction this government has chosen in the last few years," Pedersen said.

Grewal said voters have told them they need to be heard inside Saskatchewan's legislature.

"We have to listen and I spent time listening to them, and my job is to take their issues, their concerns into the legislative building and I'm looking forward to doing that," Grewal said.

There are more than 12,000 registered voters in the constituency.

Polls are open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. CST on Wednesday.