Jeremy Harrison, MLA for Meadow Lake, addresses the crowd during the official opening of the Meadow Lake Co-op Centre on June 24, 2025. Harrison called the $52-million facility a “world-class” investment and one of the proudest accomplishments of his 21-year political career. (Austin Mattes/meadowlakeNOW staff)

By Kenneth Cheung

Q&A

Catching up with MLA Jeremy Harrison: Co-op centre, community, and what’s next

Jun 27, 2025 | 3:05 PM

As Meadow Lake celebrated the opening of its long-awaited Co-op Centre on June 24, MLA Jeremy Harrison spoke with meadowlakeNOW to reflect on the past, talk about what’s next, and explain why this moment stands out after more than two decades in public office.

This interview has been edited for clarity and flow, but all quotes remain verbatim.

Q: Let’s start with the big news: the opening of the Meadow Lake Co-op Centre. What makes this moment so significant?

Harrison: “This is just an incredible thing for the community of Meadow Lake and surrounding communities as well — to have a world-class facility that we have worked really hard on,” he said, crediting regional collaborators including the City of Meadow Lake, the RM and Flying Dust First Nation.

“We all really came to the same view that we had a unique opportunity to create something that would really be of enduring value… not just the community, but for the generations that are going to come after all of us.”

NSRBL

Beavers end season on a high note, ready for playoff run

14h ago

worthy cause

Fundraiser on Saturday for those who lost homes to wildfire

17h ago

management

Ice Wolves bid farewell to Schneider, begin search for new assistant coach

17h ago

Q: The original arena burned down four years ago. How did this replacement come together so quickly?

Harrison: “There were a lot of things that kind of lined up to make it possible to move as quickly as we did on it. I really have a lot of gratitude to my colleagues and cabinet that were prepared to allocate a very large portion of the funding that existed for recreational infrastructure to our community of Meadow Lake.”

He also credited Premier Scott Moe and multiple levels of government:

“I have a great deal of gratitude to the premier, who is very, very supportive of rebuilding our arena in a much more significant way… we partnered with the federal government on this as well. All of it came together.”

Q: You grew up in the old rink. What does it feel like to see this transformation?

Harrison: “When I look back on my time in public life, this is going to be the thing that I’m probably most proud of,” he said. “That’s where you build character, that’s where you create community.”

“It’s just really an amazing thing and I can’t wait to see what it’s going to bring and how it’s going to be received by the folks in Meadow Lake who really had the first chance to look at it just this week. And I really was excited to kind of see the reactions from folks who were like, ‘wow, we never thought this could happen in Meadow Lake.’”

Q: What kind of events can people expect at the new centre?

Harrison: “We’re going to be hosting the Saskatchewan Winter Games… it’s the first time that we’ve ever hosted the Winter Games in Meadow Lake,” he said. “We’re partnering — the City of Meadow Lake and Flying Dust First Nation — to host that event, which is also the first time you’ve had a partnership between a municipal government and a First Nation government to actually deliver a project like this.”

Q: Beyond Meadow Lake, what else have you been working on lately?

Harrison: “We released the Crown annual reports earlier this week, which show our crowns are doing very well,” said Harrison, who took on responsibility for Saskatchewan’s Crown corporations in 2024. “ Very grateful for the opportunity to do it…it’s a big job. These are the biggest companies in Saskatchewan.”

As the minister responsible for SaskPower, he is also leading work on the future of power generation. “I announced… we’re going to be extending the lives of our thermal coal facilities, which will really secure the future for baseload power generation in Saskatchewan.”

Harrison also highlighted new partnerships with Indigenous groups. “We’ll see the Meadow Lake Tribal Council partnering with a private sector company to deliver two very large renewable power projects — a 200 megawatt wind project, a 100 megawatt solar project.”

Q:How do you balance all these hats — as a cabinet minister and MLA?

Harrison: “My first job is always being the MLA for Meadow Lake and I think folks well know that,” he said. “But… significant responsibilities beyond just that to the province as a whole.”

Q: What message do you want to leave with the people of Meadow Lake?

Harrison: “I’m very grateful to the people of Meadow Lake who have really made a lot of things possible,” he said. “I’ve endeavored over that 21 years to do the best job I can and to commit myself heart and soul to representing our folks.”

He pointed to milestones like the new courthouse, a long-term care facility, highway repairs, and a biomass power plant. “There are a lot of things that we can point to… that are really significant additions and significant advances for our community.”

—

Kenneth.cheung@pattisonmedia.com