Saskatchewan Party unveils campaign platform

Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe presented the party platform on Saturday in Saskatoon. (Noah Rishaug / CTV News)

The Saskatchewan Party laid out its platform on Saturday, outlining their plan if they get re-elected in the Oct. 28 provincial election.

Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe and MLAs from across Saskatoon unveiled the campaign platform at Ken Cheveldayoff's campaign office.

Moe appeared before a crowd of supporters to plead the case for his plan if re-elected premier.

"Our vision, our plan for this great province is a long-term plan. It’s a plan for long term growth," Moe said.

The Saskatchewan Party released its full platform on its website. The document includes pledges that are set to cost $1.2 billion over the course of a potential four-year term, and Moe says more than 75 per cent of it will come from tax reductions.

The Saskatchewan Party expects to continue running a deficit for the following years with the goal of balancing the budget by 2027-28.

"The platform that we are putting forward today is fully costed," Moe said.

Key focuses of the platform include income tax reduction, the graduate retention program, small business tax cuts, the active families benefit, health services for women, safer communities and neighborhoods, supporting people with disabilities, glucose monitoring coverage, and making housing affordable.

"A re-elected Saskatchewan party government will continue to reduce taxes and make life more affordable for students, for seniors, for homeowners, for families, and for everyone in Saskatchewan," Moe said.

NDP candidate Matt Love spoke at a senior care facility in Saskatoon, saying that the Saskatchewan Party had not been prioritizing the wellbeing of seniors.

"Seniors are being forgotten, Scott Moe and the Sask. Party actually rolled back seniors rights, you heard that correctly. They removed minimum standards of care. Frankly, it’s shocking," Love said.

NDP candidate Trent Wotherspoon also spoke on The Sask. Party’s platform on Saturday, saying that it will ultimately cut services.

“We’ve seen this time and time again. We’ve had a premier and a party that have made promises in previous lections, like to reduce taxes only to break those promises, break their words, to not be honest with Saskatchewan people and then to pile on with historic tax hikes that made the cost of living so much worse,” he said.

“I thought they would have stepped up properly to this challenge. They’ve put these systems into failure and broken healthcare and education.”

In response to the Saskatchewan NDP's reaction to their platform, the Sask. Party said investments in health care and education and new commitments like expanded glucose monitoring and self screening for HPV/cervical cancer are outlined in the Saskatchewan Party platform.

"Going forward, our platform costing is based on the Ministry of Finance’s four-year forecast, which includes funding increases to all areas of government, including health and education, every year," the statement read.

The Saskatchewan NDP unveiled their own platform on Friday, highlighting a removal of the provincial sales tax from children’s clothing and groceries, a suspension of the gas tax for six months, and a plan to build more schools.

Moe was critical of the NDP's campaign platform, which he claims is fiscally irresponsible and will lead to tax increases.

As the campaign period heats up, all eyes will be on the upcoming provincial election, where voters will ultimately decide whether to endorse the Saskatchewan Party's vision for the future or to embrace the alternatives presented by the NDP.

-With files from Keenan Sorokan