NDP seeking new leader

May 2, 2017 | 1:00 PM

The Saskatchewan New Democrats are looking for their next leader.

Registration for leadership candidates opened this week but party members won’t be able to vote until May of next year. Regina MLA Trent Wotherspoon has been filling in as acting leader since Cam Broten stepped down last year after losing his Saskatoon seat.

Wotherspoon has publically stated he wouldn’t be seeking permanent leadership.

Prince Albert Northcote MLA Nicole Rancourt said she wouldn’t be running this time around but stressed the importance of having a provincial leader in place by the next election. She said Saskatchewan is looking for new leadership.

“This is a really exciting time for our party to be moving forward and having the year to work on finding that new leader for us,” she said. “We definitely know there’s a lot of momentum and people are upset with the current government especially following this budget that was full of austerity cuts.”

While a leader needs a wide-variety of skills, Rancourt believed beling a team player is a large part of the job. She said one person can’t do everything, which is why it’s important to utilize the assets of others.

Rancourt didn’t want to throw her support to any individual just yet as she wanted to wait and see who puts their name forward.

She suspects candidates won’t announce their bids for some time. Rancourt believed two years will be enough time for Saskatchewan to get to know the NDP’s new leader.

During the election last year, the SaskParty won an increased majority with 51 seats, an increase of two from the previous election. The NDP fared better as well but not by much. The New Democrats won one more seat bringing their total in the legislation to 10.

There’s currently 61 seats in Regina and a party needs at least 31 to form a majority government. Prior to this election, the number of seats in Regina was 58.

 

Jeff.labine@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @labinereporter