Saskatchewan NDP leader Carla Beck stands outside of the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert on Mar. 15, 2025. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

Politics

NDP wants to see change from Sask Party as budget day looms

Mar 15, 2025 | 5:19 PM

The Saskatchewan NDP says they want to see more done by Premier Scott Moe and the Sask Party government to help residents in the province as the provincial budget is set to be announced next week.

Provincial NDP leader Carla Beck along with the entire Sask NDP caucus were in Prince Albert on Saturday for a meeting at the Ches Leach Lounge inside the Art Hauser Centre.

The Sask Party is set to release the 2025 provincial budget during the spring sitting of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly on March 19. Beck shared her frustration at the lack of communication between Premier Moe and the Saskatchewan people, along with her expectations for the budget.

“There are so many concerns that Saskatchewan people are facing. They’re frustrated that they haven’t been able to really hear from their government and that they’re going to have to wait until budget day before they see a session at a time when this is really an all hands on deck moment,” she explained.

“I hope to see a budget that starts to address some of the issues. Homelessness, the need for housing, the need for support for people who are struggling. We hear this from municipal leaders and people right across the province – concerns about crime. We hope to see those issues addressed but also hope to see the premier firmly stand up and say that he’s going to do everything that he can.”

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She emphasized the need for action and reassurance as Saskatchewan and its people are under threat with damaging tariffs from the United States and China.

“We need to see some indication that they’re willing to start putting plans and investments forward to start building those types of projects that we’ve been talking about, whether that’s a rail line including short line expansion, pressuring for better port access, building interties and power lines right across the country, getting to work building a pipeline East.”

Beck added that concerns around the tariffs have sank the province into a rut, saying this is a time for Saskatchewan to unite and work with “that Team Canada approach”.

“The concerns around the tariffs over the last almost two decades has run our healthcare system and our education system into the ground; has watched a mental health and addictions crisis take hold and spread right across this province; has failed to even bring in a broadband strategy across this province, something that we’ve heard from municipal leaders, First Nations, [and] school boards that we need for years and years.”

Speaking a press conference earlier in the week, Premier Moe outlined five different tariff threats for people in Saskatchewan right now. One was the Chinese tariff on canola products. Three others related to the U.S. — the tariffs related to the border and fentanyl, the threatened reciprocal tariffs expected in April, and the steel and aluminum tariffs currently in effect.

Moe, meanwhile, has made multiple trips to Washington D.C. in an effort to head off the tariffs, and took steps to strengthen the border and curb the trafficking of fentanyl in response to concerns raised by U.S. President Donald Trump to justify his suite of tariffs.

Moe said the province is developing a plan to support steelworkers whose livelihoods may be at risk from the 25 per cent steel tariff.

However, tariffs aren’t the only thing Beck is concerned about as there are internal threats that she said need to be addressed.

“The issues that were there before the tariffs, though, are still there, like healthcare issues. In the last number of days, we’ve seen a decrease in hours at City Hospital in Saskatoon, we’ve seen a virtual ‘code orange’ issued in Regina because hospitals are struggling to keep up and we continue to see closures and understaffing right across this province. The childcare issue – the fact that Saskatchewan is one of only two provinces right now that hasn’t signed on to a $10 a day childcare plan at a time when families are struggling to put food on the table doesn’t make any sense.”

She added that the province did sign onto the school food program, something the NDP advocated for during the election.

“It’s a program that makes sense that kids need, that families need right now.”

Friday marked the first day in office for new Liberal leader and Prime Minister Mark Carney, who announced he’d be cutting the heavily unfavoured carbon tax on April 1 in his first move as the new Canadian leader, something Beck agreed with.

“This is something that has been called for a very long time,” said Beck.

“This was an incredibly unpopular tax that often puts increased costs on those who could least afford to pay it and frankly, has left us in a place where we are overly dependent on the United States. This is about calling on any of those federal leaders who would seek to be our Prime Minister, to come forward to show some bold vision to work with the provinces to get some things done. We’ve seen too much division and shouting and not enough work getting done.”

It’s time that we saw that from all of our leaders.”

-with files from CKOM News

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

On Bluesky: @loganlehmann.bsky.social