NDP leader Jagmeet Singh defended the NDP’s record of accomplishments during minority governments, and blasted Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre as leaders who would do more for billionaires then working people during a campaign stop in Saskatoon on Wednesday.
Singh appeared before a packed room of supporters at Saskatoon West NDP candidate Rachel Loewen Walker’s campaign office Wednesday evening. He entered to hugs, high-fives, and chants of “NDP, NDP”, and urged voters to make the NDP the balance of power in Parliament.
“Ottawa works best when one party doesn’t have all of the power,” Singh said. “We’ve seen in our history, the best things that have ever come out of our parliament have been when New Democrats are there.”
Singh also singled out U.S. President Donald Trump for criticism. The NDP leader said Canada “will never be the 51st state” and said the U.S. leader’s tariff policies were taking their toll on working people.
“A lot of us are worried about the rollercoaster ride that is the threat of Donald Trump,” Singh said. “One day there’s tariffs, then there’s pauses, then there’s threats. The threats are on or off. It’s stressful. People are really worried, and they’re worried about what it means for their lives. They’re worried about what it means for their families…. The cost of living is already so high.”
Singh spoke to supporters for about seven minutes while flanked by supporters and local candidates, including Prince Albert NDP candidate Virgina Kutzan.
Kutzan said she was pleased with energy at Wednesday’s campaign stop, and was confident Singh was the right candidate to lead the NDP into a new session of Parliament.
“I think he’s very sincere and he’s extremely articulate in what he is planning to do and his views and his commitments as well,” Kuztan said in an interview afterwards.
“The energy here is just fantastic,” she added. “It just reinforces what I’ve always known—that the NDP stands and fights for the ordinary working person.”
Singh told supporters the NDP is the party of choice for voters who want expanded Pharmacare, better access to family doctors, improved universal healthcare, and a housing market that “works for people, not billionaires.”
He said Liberal Party leader Mark Carney and Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre have the same solution to Canada’s problems: more cuts.
“They’re saying, ‘that’s not good for me, that’s not good for my family, that’s not good for our country.’ More and more Canadians are rejecting Pierre Poilievre, and that’s a good thing,” Singh said during his speech.
“Now, people are taking a look at Mark Carney, Mark Carney’s also talking a lot about cuts. He’s talking about cutting services for people to give tax cuts to millionaires. That’s not what we need right now.”
The NDP was once a powerhouse in Saskatchewan federal elections, but voters haven’t sent an NDP MP to Ottawa since 2000 when former journalist Dick Proctor was elected in Palliser and Lorne Nystrom was elected in Regina—Qu’Appelle.
Kutzan said the NDP has good chance of winning seats like Prince Albert if Liberal voters give their support.
“To my Liberal friends … the last seven elections they’re been third, and in this election, the Liberals have a candidate that doesn’t live in the constituency,” Kutzan said. “If you want to consolidate support behind one party—that is the NDP—there is a chance to beat the Conservatives. Otherwise we’re splitting the vote.”
When asked what her main priority would be if she was elected as MP, Kutzan said healthcare is always top of mind as a former nurse. However, she said it would be one of many priorities.
“Right now I’m just doing it one day at a time,” she said. “I’m not looking that far ahead because we’ve got a lot of work to do in these next couple of weeks.”
